Team: Azure
by Ace Wolfblade
Summary: Join Ace Wolfblade as he and his team attend Beacon to become Hunters. Fun will be had, Friends will be made, Secrets will be revealed, and Feelings will be explored.
1. Prologue

**Prologue: Enter Ace**

Welcome to the world of Remnant, a vast, almost magical land. Watched over by its many kingdoms, the world has been set into an amazing time of peace. Even so it's not a perfect existence. Never has been, never will be. Perfection is an unobtainable goal sought by fools and endless dreamers stuck in their own fantasies. I have to admit though that sometimes the very quest for such an unreachable goal brings forth some of the most desirable change for the better, and while we may never be satisfied with what we achieve in this pursuit, eventually we will find the we can contently settle for better. As is with the current state of ceasefire across Remnant, it is not without its flaws. We live in a world where mankind was forced to build their civilization with their backs against the wall, and even though we have gained untold ground against the creatures of Grimm, the creatures that threaten our very existence, we are still faced with the task to continue fighting to maintain that hold. Grim isn't the only problem we must deter though. Crime is ever precedent through the streets of our peaceful cities and racism and hatred run amok throughout the kingdoms. Such things are not easily erased or forgotten. But through the darkness, glimmers of hope shine to maintain the peace, however brief it may be. New heroes are born every day to combat this endless struggle. They dedicate their lives training to become Hunters and Huntresses to keep this balance and protect those who do not have the strength to protect themselves. But sometimes there are things more dangerous than even Grimm, ourselves. More specifically it's our fears and our emotions, our secrets and our pasts. Our inner most demons that threaten our own self-destruction and even harming those caught in their wake. And no matter how hard one may try to hide it, people are already crumbling on the inside. I know these facts to be true. I have a certain specialty in detecting these feelings. I've also grown quite skilled in helping others face these problems. It's a blessing and a curse I suppose. I gain great satisfaction in helping those who truly need it, those amongst us ready to break. I can't help but feel dissatisfied when those who are hurting refuse to seek help. I hate to see anybody suffer. It's sick and usually completely avoidable. I can't force them though, there life is their choice although some fail to see the extent in which that truly stretches. But I feel that sometimes all they truly need is a friendly push in the right direction.

* * *

Oh but listen to me ramble on about my view of the world, and not even give you a proper introduction. My name is Ace Wolfblade. My family occupation has always been geared toward blacksmithing, forging weapons; as such my skill in the field reflects this long lineage. While I respect and actively, if not most enjoyably, partake in my families work I always knew that I wanted more and would one day become a Hunter. I'm seventeen years old and I have just finished my final year at Signal Academy. Signal is a school designed to help train its students to become future Hunters and Huntresses in training. It trains them to become warriors, protectors of Remnant and all of humanity. Now my next and final step is Beacon, the most prestigious and renowned school for Hunters and Huntresses in all of Vale. The road will be perilous and full of hardship, danger around every corner, but no one ever said it would be easy, especially when it came down to the Entrance Level Combat Exam. Very few are selected to attend this school. But all my years of training and preparation had gotten me too far to let this deter me. I had been working for that very moment. Determination in tow I took the exam. I would later be informed that my efforts were not wasted. I had been selected to attend Beacon. I had passed the hardest hurdle with flying colors. I had finally done it. I was going to Beacon. My next step to becoming a Hunter was in front of me as a new adventure was quickly unfolding.

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**A/N: First of let me thank you for bothering to take the time to read my Fan Fiction. I've been wanting to write one for a long time and finally have enough material to get off to a decent start. That being said this is my first Fan Fiction and my skills as a writer are relatively low. I hope that this will change as I write more. This story will follow very closely to the Canon RWBY Universe with a few minor tweaks for my OCs. The story will be mostly told through my OC but perspective may change when necessary or when I'm comfortable writing through the other characters perspective. I am happy to receive any criticism so I may help make my writing improve. If you have any suggestions to improve grammar, structure, layout, and especially ways to liven up the story with fresh descriptive language I would be honored to listen. I will post the first actual chapter later today if all goes well to give a better idea of my current writing skill and actually get the ball rolling on the story. I will try to post at least once a week until I catch up to unfinished chapters then it will probably turn to twice a month if I'm lucky. Once again thank you and I await your reviews.**


	2. Chapter 1

**First Days Pt 1: Setting the Stage**

* * *

The day had finally arrived for the eager new students of Beacon to begin their greatest adventure in becoming the warriors that Remnant needed. For the next four long years this would become their home. This would be the place where they ate, slept, trained, and learned. Where new friendships would be made and secrets would be revealed.

* * *

"So you passed your entrance exam as well Matt? That's great!" I congratulate my childhood friend as we walked around the airship to Beacon. "We can continue training and learning together again."

"You sound surprised, I don't know whether to be grateful or offended." He jokingly replied with that classic goofy grin on his face.

"Sorry, you know I meant nothing by it. I'm just happy we didn't get separated, and a little shocked that you of all people found it in yourself to take the test seriously." I mocked at my fellow hunter in training.

Matthew Erthanos. We go way back to a little before us attending Signal together. I guess you could say he was my first real friend actually. Not to be said that people weren't friendly towards me, Matt was just the first one to stick by me no matter what. I think people were just a little uncomfortable with my choice in armor. Instead of donning the usual cloth or metal armor for combat I decided to go in a completely different route.

To be put bluntly it was a strategic combination of various Grimm plating. Here's a little insight as to what this consisted of. The chest piece was little more than a slightly modified Death Stalker face-plate. The creatures of Grimm came in a variety of shapes and sizes. We as Hunters and Huntresses normally tackle the larger and deadlier variants. Those were the more primary targets during hunts. Finding a face plate suitable for crafting such an unorthodox defensive garment was a little challenging. But none the less my quest eventually provided me with good fortune and handed me the appropriate dimensions for such a piece. I even took the extra step in replacing it's now lifeless eyes with shaped pieces crafted out of its own stinger preserving a more natural look.

Other pieces of the exoskeleton were carefully crafted together to form a back plate as well as arm and leg protection. Underneath this bony armor was a light mesh suit of King Taijitu scaling. On the right side the scales were of the black half of the creature but as it moves to the left it alternated to white with the colors gradually alternating to each other in the middle. The Grimm serpents are famously huge so crafting a full body under armor was simple. The scales are strong and great for added defense to areas that I couldn't cover with the regular bone plating while leaving my body flexible for movement. It's surprisingly comfortable in all reality. Added to the outer armors blind spot were some Ursa back spikes embedded into the plate of Death Stalker plating. Of course for practicality the spines were reduced by more than half their original size to proportion them to the rest of the armor.

To complete my ensemble I had acquired an Alpha Beowulf's head and converted it into suitable helmet. It covered the top half of my head quite effectively and with minor modifications I retained me vision through a combination of more stinger shrapnel and special lenses on the inside to allow natural sight. I'm really attached to that helmet I have to admit. I can't bear to take it off. Outside of Matthew and other people who have seen me before the armor was forged know what the rest of my face looks like. It's not like I'm trying to hide my appearance. I just love the thing so much. Sometimes I even forget I'm wearing it. Through all this engineering my Chimera Grimm armor, as it was appropriately named was effective but undoubtedly unnerving for people to be around.

Matt however was an entirely different story. Admittedly he confessed that it was indeed intimidating to say the least but argued that it was how it was to be used that defined its true nature. Truer words had never been spoken, at least not by Matt. He does surprise me from time to time with his insight but this is still the same crazy guy whose definition of fun was putting holes in the training room floor with his massive spiked great hammer, Vulcan. That monstrosity had more strength than five Ursi and was twice as brutal. Needless to say we would both end up in trouble more times than I dared to count for his "overly enthusiastic" display of combat. His armor was more conventional than mine but in my opinion that's what made it that much more boring. It was barely more than basic heavy metal plating covering his various areas with an equally as basic chain-mail underneath. Matthew Erthanos was a tank in human form.

"Hey I can be serious when it counts," he boldly proclaimed with his fists at his waist for emphasis. "You're just no fun. I have to be less serious to even the energy."

"I'm plenty fun and you know it," I state in my defense. "My definition of fun just happens to be saner, unlike some people who resort to picking on a herd of Borbatusks to get his thrills. I still have pains from last week you know."

"Yeah that big one really didn't like you." He almost laughed in my face.

"Yeah you're just lucky the stupid thing killed itself bashing its head into my back spikes."

"Now that was funny! By the way where's your weapon?" he asked.

"My _weapons_ are being shipped in the cargo hold."

"You brought ALL of them!? He practically yelled to all of Vale. "I told you that you needed to pick ONE, namely your personal weapon."

"I know, I know but I felt that a few would come in handy so I brought them, and I did bring my personal weapon." '_Among other things_' I quietly thought to myself. Matt was going to be even more upset at what else I brought stored in the cargo hold.

"Look just because you can make all these weapons doesn't mean you have to master them too."

"I think it pays to be prepared for any situation." I retorted.

Before Matt came around I was already proficient in crafting weapons both simplistic and intricate. With no one to spend time with I opted to spend my leisure time practicing with the various weapon classes. Naturally I had a great field of knowledge on how each weapon worked and the strengths and weaknesses of each individual weapon. I considered it a requirement for any proper weapon forger to know these things, especially when these weapons are your family's source of income. Bad products meant bad business.

Personally I enjoy the swift precision behind my dual katanas, which happened to connect at each other's hilts to form a powerful twin blade. But these were only my secondary weapons and I preferred the sheer stopping power of my claymore/shotgun hybrid for more powerful attacks. I know Hunters usually only have one specific weapon but that just wasn't my style. I usually carry around both sets of weapons with katanas on back and claymore resting at my left side, but for the sake of the trip I didn't feel it necessary to carry them around on the airship and left them in my cargo.

"Whatever, you brought your blacksmithing gear with you too didn't you?"

"Of course" I answer back lazily.

"You know I heard that Beacon is supposed to have an exceptional forge on campus."

"Well then I'm sure they won't mind the extra equipment. My weapons, my tools."

"You know I can't help but feel your neglecting to tell me something about your "cargo" on board." He states accusingly. "What are you not telling me?"

"I…Uh… Hey look there's Beacon!" 'Thank you forces above for that timely distraction.' True to my word Beacon was coming into our view. We were finally here.

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**A/N: Somthing went wrong when I put out this chapter so I had to remove it. I'm still getting use to this publishing system so give me some time. If it's still screwed up this time I'm gonna have words with my computer.**


	3. Chapter 2

**First Days Pt 2: The Long Awaited Arrival**

As we stepped off the airship we began to truly comprehend the sheer size of this place. The campus stretched out for acres and its tallest structure threatened to pierce the heavens themselves. This structure appeared to be more of a castle than it was a school. Words simply failed us as we marveled at the grandiose architecture that was our school. All we could manage to muster was a cooperative "Wow…" Many other first year students began to explore their new home with equal excitement. All except for one lone individual.

In the middle of the courtyard by a sizable statue depicting Hunters and Huntresses standing above the Grimm they conquer stood a very calm and composed Knight. He wore a full suite of heavy silver armor, with a royal blue surcoat displaying his emblem, a sizable shield adorned with a dragons head, accented by a few patches of black. The armor covered his entire body; leaving no area for vulnerability, save for his mouth which was the only part unguarded by steel. An odd decision to say the least but I wouldn't question it. I would however question the overly massive Zweihander blade mounted on his shoulder. Forget Matts hammer this behemoth was larger than life itself. I can't imagine the physical training it took to even wield something that big. He didn't stick around long and headed in what I assumed was the direction to the site of the orientation meeting.

"Did you see the size of that guy's sword Matt?" I inquired as I returned my attention to my friend.

"Yeah, don't go getting any ideas now Ace."

"I have absolutely no idea as to what you are talking about."

"Sure you don't, just like you don't know what could possibly be in your own cargo…" He trailed off for a moment. I could tell that something in that thick head of his just clicked. "You didn't, did you? You didn't bring That with you, here of all places, right?" he asked nervously. The only response I gave him was a gentle nod to confirm his suspicions. It wouldn't do me any good to lie about it now. He would just find out later anyway.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD OF REMNANT MADE YOU THINK THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA!?" Matt screamed angrily. No this was beyond anger, this was pure unbridle fury. Trying to stop this outrage would be like trying to contain a volcanic eruption.

"Shh, I know but I couldn't just leave it, and besides this probably by far more reasonable than your escapade to sneak away with a bottle of your fathers wine to "taste" it." I counter grimacing at the memory of the ordeal that shortly followed.

"Hey you had some too, we're in this together!"

"I only had one glass like we had agreed; you finished the whole bottle by nightfall."

"Oh it wasn't that bad."

"You were running up and down the neighborhood streets like a mad man. To this day I'll never understand how you managed to fold that truck around the top of the electrical tower. I'm not hiding you from the cops next time you decide to go on a drunken rampage with Vulcan waking the whole neighborhood. Oh and you can find someone else to complain about your hangover too."

"I still think this is far worse."

"Oh you would say that you iron headed je…"

I was interrupted from our banter by the sounds of sneezing and… explosions?

"What in Remnant was that?" Matt cried out, frantically searching for the source of the newfound commotion. I turn around to find the origin of the uproar. What I found was amusing to say the least.

A sizable cloud of Dust particles and energy dissipated revealing two girls. One was dressed in a red and black combat skirt with a red hood draped on her shoulders. She had short black hair with red tips and the most adorable silver eyes. A red slab of metal was attached on her back, presumably it was her weapon.

The other was dressed in an elegant white and light blue bolero jacket and skirt. Her eyes were a frigid ice blue and her long white hair was bound in an asymmetrical ponytail on her right side. Her weapon of choice, a Dust Action Rapier, was holstered at her side.

On second inspection I noted the white snowflake insignia on her back, the symbol of the Schnee Dust Company and family. The girl's family alone could supply nations with Dust for years and because of this were famous for their wealth. On the offhand they were also known for some rather questionably business decisions including but not limited to their exploitation and mistreatment of Faunas labor forces.

The two girls were covered in soot from the small explosion and neither looked very happy. The younger girl could only sit and fidget as the heiress proceeded to rant and verbally assault her with words as cold as her glare.

"Looks like someone else is getting a hard time" I observe. Matt and I proceeded to the orientation leaving the girls to their squabble.

"Hey Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"That red girl was kinda cute."

"Ugh, just keep moving lover boy."

We soon found ourselves amongst all the other first year students gathered in the auditorium. The variety of weapons and weapon designs was truly remarkable. Maces, swords, guns… a bow? Someone favors classic projectiles I see.

The young Huntsman was dressed in a forest green archer hood and shroud, covering a black thin tunic. It was very light protection but it allowed a much greater level of mobility and stealth that metal armor couldn't provide. The back of the shroud displayed his emblem, a Nevermore seen from an aerial view. It was simple yet displayed strength. On his back was a quiver which contained his weapons ammunition, multiple high quality arrows.

I continue to scan the room and its various occupants, stopping when I spot the Knight from the courtyard. He still had his weapon mounted on his arm. I quickly avert my gaze. Just looking at that sword made my body feel tired, drained of energy.

We wouldn't have to wait long for the Headmaster to arrive as he took his place on the small stage. Professor Ozpin, Huntsman and Headmaster of Beacon. The man seemed very distant as he spoke into the microphone, like he was preoccupied by something else.

"I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished you plan on dedicating your lives to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

"Well that was less than inspirational" Matt whispered slightly annoyed by Ozpins choice of a speech.

"It was… interesting" I confirm with less annoyance and more confusion. Professor Goodwitch takes Ozpins place on stage as he makes his leave.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You're dismissed."

"Well I'm gonna go check on my cargo. See ya later Matt." I inform him as we start to disperse.

"Whatever, just don't get on trouble on your first day." Matt replied.

"Uh pot, come in pot this is kettle over" I mock mimicking a radio transceiver. He had more of a chance screwing something up the first day than I did. With that I took my leave.

It was getting late as I made my way back to the ballroom, after retrieving and depositing my weapons into my assigned locker, per Goodwitchs instruction. I found Matt among the resting students with a spot beside him reserved for me.

"So how did it go?" he asked.

"Fine" I reply tiredly.

"Everything taken care of?"

"Yes." I replied settling into what qualified as our beds. I don't know how long he would press the topic but I don't think he needed much more of a response than that. He quickly dropped the subject.

"I can't wait for tomorrow. I finally get to crack some Grimm skulls!" Matt cheered with brimming excitement.

"Calm down, save your energy until the initiation."

Somewhere in the room we could both hear people wrestling followed by voices.

"Oh not you again!"

We turn to face the far side of the room, illuminated by candlelight. Why am I not surprised to find the girls from earlier? The rivaling duo was accompanied by two more faces. One a tall blonde with lilac colored eyes and long golden hair that covered her back and almost went to her waist. Through the bickering she revealed herself as the red and black themed girls' older sister.

The other girl was just sitting against the wall with a book in her hand watching the warring teenagers in front of her. She had long raven hair and piercing amber eyes. Here attire matched her hair including the bow perched in the middle of her head. I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure bows aren't meant to be used as sleepwear. Oh well.

The black haired girl seemed to be quite through with the situation, clearly annoyed her reading time was interrupted. With a simple short breath she extinguished the candelabra darkening the room and signaling it was time for us to retire to our rest.

Morning arrived as daylight broke through the room stirring students and myself from our collective slumber. I awake with a yawn and a slightly sore back. The floor mats that posed as our beds were not unbearable but lacked the cushioning a proper bed would have provided as opposed to laying on the hard ground.

A lot of the other students, including the four girls from last night, had already vacated the area to start the day. I shake my head trying to jar myself into a less comatose state. I can hear a very enthusiastic looming over another student, probably her friend, waiting for him to wake. The bubbly girl had orange hair and cool turquoise eyes. Her clothes were just basic pink and white colored teen clothes.

"Wake up lazy butt!" she shouted to her slowly rising friend, a young male with black hair tied into a ponytail and a streak of magenta in the front. His eyes were equally as pink and he wore a green material artist tunic. His face remained stoic despite just being awoken by the overly energetic girl.

'I know how you feel man' I think to myself as a watched the duo get up and go. He wasn't the only one to be rudely yanked out of their sleep by an energetic companion. Matt's family was always very close to me and my own after we became friends and we would often hangout together whenever we got the chance.

Unfortunately, due to his constant antics we were usually too exhausted to return to our respective homes and ended up crashing at whose ever house we were around at the time. He always got up before me and pestered me until I woke up.

'Now that I think about it where was that iron headed mani-'

"MORNING ACE!"

"ACK!" I stumble over face landing on the floor. I turn to face Matt glaring at him with a look he knew too well. The grin on his face remained despite this.  
"Matt…" I groan at him. "It's too early for you to be giving me heart attacks."

I would think that I would be used to these morning assaults on my nerves, but sadly that wasn't the case. Matt had apparently already as he was dressed in his armor with weapon at his side.

I dragged myself floor and to the bathroom for my morning rituals. With my morning maintenance out of the way I exit the bathroom to find Matt waiting… with my weapons in his hands. I know I locked the up in my locker before retiring to the ballroom, and yet here Matt was holding my blades in his arms.

'Great, now I have to change the access code to my locker.' On the bright side that saves me a trip to the armory.

We walk to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast. Nothing fancy. Just a simple plate of eggs, pancakes, toast and some milk.

"What no bacon?" Matt sulked clearly displeased with this discovery. Matt loves his bacon.

"They probably only want to serve the more healthy foods to benefit our health in combat" I reason, cutting my pancakes.

"But bacon is so good" he whines once more.

"Get over it and hurry up. We have to be at the cliff side soon."

Matt begrudgingly complies as he decimates his bacon less breakfast at break neck speed. No manners whatsoever.

"So when I was in the locker room I overheard that we might be getting partners today." Matt states as I continue with my breakfast.

"I feel sorry for the poor fool who gets stuck with you."

"Well what if that poor fool is you." He points with his fork before stealing some eggs to spite me.

"Please for everyone else's sake I hope it's me, save the others the trouble."

"Hey I would make for a great teammate for anyone."

"Provided you don't drive them insane or to an early grave I would agree."

"Whatever lets go."

Shortly after finishing we make our way to the cliff to find many familiar faces, including Goodwitchs and the Headmaster himself. We take our positions marked by the schools logo on metallic squares close to the edge. Matt just sat with his back to cliff acting the fool that he was. He always had to be difficult.

When we were all settled, Ozpin began his lecture.

"For years you have trained to become warriors, today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Goodwitch chimed in as it was her turn to speak.

"Now I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… today." Ozpin reclaims the audience.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone whom you can work well. That being said the _first_ person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"What?!" a shrill shriek came from the distant side of the cliff.

"After you have partnered up make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will face heavy opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die"

'Good job professor. You just gave a destruction crazed maniac the green light to level the forest.'

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item as well as your standing and we will grade you appropriately. Are there any questions? Good, now take your positions."

With the last words barely out of his mouth, one by one we were catapulted into the forest. We heard the sounds of the few before us being launched but Matts' attention was regained too late as he too was launched in the sitting position he remained in. As I joined him in the sky I heard his cries of surprise turn to exited whooping.

As we soared through the heavens over an endless sea of trees I could not help but revel in the experience. It was amazing, free and contenting. I saw Matt draw Vulcan turning his head to shoot me a grin. He began spinning himself to redirect his momentum, and after a few rotations, activated Vulcans launch system sending the heavy head of the hammer rocketing to punch the air above him. It launched him with enough force to send him barreling to the forest below.

'Well there goes Matt. Not sure if I can find him again in this thick foliage.'

I too lose speed and began my descent into the forest below. Up until now I was too distracted by Matt to formulate a landing strategy that didn't involve me becoming a crater in the ground. I don't have much time to think as the forest becomes closer and closer.

I hear a tree crashing down not far behind me signaling that Matt had landed. 'What did trees ever do to him?'

'Come on brain give me something.' Finally I had formulated a plan. I draw my twin katanas and raise them up pointing parallel to my body as I am submerged into the sea of leaves below. Using my katanas I gripped a branch over my head. Using my momentum I swung off the branch and headed feet first into a collision course with the side of another tree. Quickly I sheath the twin swords and switched to my claymore, Lunar Fang. I point the blade in the direction of my legs and connect with the tree, driving the blade into the sturdy bark.

I'm now standing sideways halfway up the tree using my embedded sword to keep from immediately falling. I look down gauging the distance left between me and the ground, a fall that could easily be absorbed by aura.

I withdraw my blade from the tree to begin my final descent, back flipping off just for added flare. With my feet now firmly planted on sweet terra firma once more it became time to make my way to the forest temple. Maybe I'll find Matt on the way. I just hope he hasn't caused himself or anyone else any trouble already. I begin my journey to the temple, unaware of the presence pursuing me, watching from the shadows, waiting to strike.


	4. Chapter 3

**First Days Pt 3: Team: AZRE**

I feel like I've been walking for hours, but in all reality it's probably only been half an hour. Time slows down without any company it seems. Even so I still have yet to run into Matt, or any of the other students, or even the forest temple. As I walk I can't help but feel something is off.

Suddenly a fireball from seemingly nowhere flies past me narrowly missing me by a few inches. It explodes several feet away from me. I don't know where it came from but I'm not about to stick around to find out. I begin dashing through the forest evading even more fireballs were fired around me, one coming so close to hitting the back of my head that I could feel the heat emanating from it warming my face as it flew by.

Whatever it is that is firing at me isn't stopping its attack. I need to lose it somehow and quickly. As I serpentine and evade through the trees I activate my semblance allowing me to seemingly vanish into thin air. The fireballs cease as the attacker is unable to detect where I am. I deactivate my semblance reappearing a slight distance from where I had activated it. The fireballs return as it seems I had been found by my pursuer. I reactivate my semblance once again, vanishing from sight and reappearing further and further away. The process continues for a little while as I continue to confuse and evade the source of the fire.

After a couple of minutes running through the trees, the fireballs cease once more but I continue on as to not be found again. I come across a clearing in the forest with a stone structure in the middle. I come to a stop in front of it, needing a moment to catch my breath. My aura and stamina have been greatly drained from the run and need a chance to recharge. After a brief moments rest my aura flares up warning me that danger was near, very near.

I quickly side roll to the right in time to evade an all too familiar sword. A Zweihander. It belongs to that solitary Knight but why would he be attacking me? He swings his blade horizontally trying to swipe me. I jump over his oncoming sword avoiding the attack and landing safely back down. He swipes twice more each time being futile in his attempt to hit me. He changes his swinging into a powerful forward thrust and once more I jump to dodge, landing on the end of his blade. Proud of my maneuver I flash a grin, but am surprised to see my foe flashing one of his own.

"Hrghyah!" he grunts as he swings his blade upward launching me into the air with tremendous strength. And here I thought I was done flying for today. As I flew upwards he lowered his blade and tracked me trajectory. He opened his mouth and launched a fireball upwards at me with great force. I draw Lunar Fang but am to slow to deflect the incoming shot and it connects with my chest. Thank dust for aura or I would have been severely burned.

He launches another orb of fire but this time I am prepared and split it in half. I attempt to use the fall to power an aerial twin kick similar to what I did to the tree when I landed but was greeted by a surprise.

His blade splits in half down the middle of its broad side. One half of the blade splits outwards on the blades edge folding outwards to the sides of the massive hilt. The halves telescope inwards decreasing the length of each to a mere third of its true size. The halves then rotate pointing downwards forming a shield like shape. The other half of the blade also collapses in a similar fashion and tucks itself under the hilt forming a protruding bayonet in the bottom front. He pulls up the newly formed shield and my feet land harmlessly against its surface. With no choice I rebound of the shield a good distance away.

In the center of the shield a hidden six barrel chain gun turret concealed by the blades, comes uncovered. The turret extends its barrels outwards to complete the weapon transformation. The Knight was now wielding a mini-gun with guards on either side to deflect attacks and the handle of the blade revealed a trigger to act as the firing mechanism.

He grips the trigger with his left hand and holds the weapon up by the handle on the hilt. The whole transformation took only a few seconds and he was now primed to a much different kind of fire upon me. Lunar Fang is too slow to block successive fire so I return it to its sheath and switch to using my katanas, immediately activating their fusion. As the hilts touch and a connective handle forms between them giving them a proper grip. The Knight pulls the trigger starting the guns slight three second warm-up and his whirring death machine begins firing rounds in quick succession. He must be using a Dust powered energy core to power his weapons rounds.

I spin my twin blade to deflect his projectiles. I start charging towards him while I continued to deny his rounds contact. His weapon ceased fire and converted back into its blade form. He began charging at me with equal speed. His blade is too heavy for my katanas to block an attack, so after disconnecting them, I switched back to my claymore. When I'm within his range he brings his sword down. I slide into the blade raising my own overhead to block. My blade catches his and with a quick motion, I knock it back with my own upward swing staggering him back. He breaths a small fire ball and I retreat backwards a safe distance.

By this time we're both exhausted and our auras are definitely low. We stare each other down for what looked like the beginning of the final clash of steel. A gentle breeze blows in our faces as our eyes remain locked on each other. To my surprise and great relief he returns his sword to his back. The skirmish was over.

"Not bad, not bad at all." he finally spoke, revealing his voice. It was gentle and medium in tone. For someone geared up as he was I was expecting a little deeper.

"You're pretty good yourself." I smirk as I sheath my blade. "Now why did you attack me?"

"I was just testing your metal." He replies evenly.

"Uh-huh, that's why you tried to incinerate me and split me in half while I wasn't looking."

"Well in all honesty I thought you were some kind of Grimm before I saw your weapons." He confessed with slight embarrassment. Oh joy, another reason to question my decisions in armor. Confound armor is proving more trouble than it's worth.

"If I had lien for every time I heard that…"

"No hard feelings then?" he extends his hand in a gesture of peace.

"All in the past." I shake his hand accepting his apology. "So where is your partner?"

"I don't have one actually."

"Well neither do I so I guess you'll have to do." I reply mockingly. I don't think he took that as well as I had intended as his grin disappeared. "Oh lighten up I was just joking. It would be an honor to be partnered with such a fierce fighter. I'm Ace Wolfblade."

"Likewise, I'm Zweii Dragos." He bows.

"Dragos, you mean like dragons?"

"Precisely."

"Ah, so that would explain the fire. Your semblance?"

"Yes. Everyone on my father's side of the family inherits it. Dragonic Pyromancy. I can take the heat as well as dish it out." He laughs. "When I was chasing you through the forest, for brief moments you disappeared and I lost track of you. Then you reappeared. How did you do that? Is your semblance speed, teleportation, or…"

"Invisibility. I can completely cloak myself as well as my armor and weapons. I can cloak things around me too but it puts a bit of a strain on my aura. I only use it when necessary."

"That's handy."

"Man that sword of yours is huge. No offense but you don't quite look the part to swing it around like you do. What's with that?"

"What Dragons Wrath? It's actually lighter than you think. The alloy is strong but not as dense as regular steel. Plus a good portion of it is hollow to house the turret." He explains detailing his swords properties.

"I see. And the gun is powered by dust yes?"

"Right. A clip is pretty impractical and hard to reload in heavy combat. What about yours? Does it have dual capabilities?" He points to Lunar Fang.

"Yeah Lunar Fang converts into an assault shotgun and I utilize a small Dust crystal in the hilt to generate the rounds, similar to yours but slightly heavier."

We finish talking as we step into the middle of the temple. The relics rested on pedestals place around its circumference. They appeared to be chess pieces and a few are missing. There are no kings or queens, the white bishops are gone as the black rooks.

"I suppose we should grab one and head back." Zweii states. I pick up black knight. Seems appropriate all things considered.

"Alright let's get going." As we turn we find howling beasts waiting for us. Beowolves, and lots of them. At least twenty led by an Alpha. Zweii and I have had time to rest and charge our auras after our fight but not a lot and not by much. I check my scroll to gauge how much aura I have left. A little over half a full bar indicated by green lights. I was hoping for more.

"Down to half aura here, how about you?"

He checks his scroll and faces me. "Same. Got a plan?"

"Divide and conquer." I draw my katanas and I rush for the half of the beasts on my right and Zweii takes the left. A Beowulf lunges at me and I slide past splitting it in half down the midsection. I kick the upper half into another one behind it staggering it. I decapitate it and move on. One after another I drop the oncoming pack. Zweii was taking strong swings at his half, slicing two to three at a time with every motion. He wipes them out quite quickly. Soon the Alpha is the only one standing but this was short lived.

It howls and another pack takes the place of the dead ones and surrounds us. Me and Zweii stand back to back preparing for the next wave. He converts his sword to chain-gun mode and I switch to Lunar Fang converting it to shotgun mode. His mini-gun begins rotating spraying rounds into the enemies in a sweeping fashion. I start unloading shells into my half of the new pack. One… Two… Three, four, five. Soon they all dropped leaving the Alpha alone once more.

The Alpha jumps at us making his final mistake. He takes a shot to the chest sending him crashing down but not instantly killing it. It takes two more rounds to the chest and two more to the face before it lay dead with its pack. The Beowolves were defeated but our battle wasn't over yet. A group of six Ursi from nearby must have heard all the commotion and were un us in seconds.

"Oh come on, when are we gonna catch a break?" I puff slightly, tired from the Beowolves. My aura is at about a fourth indicated by a small red bar. Zweii was also showing signs of exhaustion, breathing heavily. This had to end quickly or it was going to turn ugly real fast.

The Ursi surround us and prepare to attack. One made the first move and targeted me. It was mid swipe and I took a defensive stance bracing for the impact. Before it could connect an arrow came screaming out form the trees around us. The Ursas strike was canceled by an explosion of ice that froze its back side. The Ursa was immobilized by the ice and I took the opportunity given and ended the Ursa, thrusting my blade through its chest. The other Ursi were distracted from the sudden loss of one of their kind and retreated a little. They look around trying to find the origin of the murderous arrow only for one of them to be greeted with a spiked hammer to the face. Matthew had arrived.

"You're late to the party" I tell him with a weary grin.

"It's not a party until I get here." He returned with his usual smile. "I see you're not the only one that made a new friend today." He points to Zweii.

"Oh him, that's my partner Zweii." He waves in recognition of his name.

A hooded figure leaps from a nearby tree. "Ace, Zweii, this is my new friend and partner Dezaryl Ravenhawk."

I shake his hand. "I'm so sorry. Nice to officially meet you Dezaryl."  
"Oh he's no problem. He seems far saner than my kid brother. By the way Dezaryl is pretty long so my friends just call me Dez."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that yet Dez. You just met after all." I warn.

"Hey Ace, be quite." He retorts. "Anyways word of advice, don't play guessing games with this guy. His semblance is Mental Augmentation. Gets into your mind."

"Uh guys, I hate to break up this wonderful reunion but we still have these things to take care of." Zweii reminds us readying his sword.

"One for each of us? I like those numbers." I reply switching Lunar Fang to blade mode. We each rush an individual target. Zweii uses his semblance to coat his sword in fire for added killing power. The Ursa never stood a chance as the fiery blade cut it from head to torso disintegrating it.

Dez draws three arrows tipped with burn Dust and fires them with quick precision, each one striking it in the front. As the arrows connected with the Ursas body the tips exploded causing the beast to recoil backwards in pain, exposing its unarmored chest. Dez then pulled the string of his long bow forwards and it collapsed into a long sword, sharp edges emerging from both sides of the bow. He charges the Ursa delivering the final blow, slashing it across its chest. Its body dropped backwards void of life.

Matt got up close and personal with his Ursa and engaged it with his fists. The beast bit at him but ended up getting a mouthful of Matt's arm as he activated his semblance. Teeth met pure iron and the Ursas jaw cracked. Matt's semblance him to convert his flesh into iron granting him a dramatic increase in his physical attacks and defense at the price of some speed. He smirks at the Ursa and punches it off with his metallic right fist sending it flying. It landed on its back and Matt ended it with a powerful finishing strike to the torso with Vulcan.

I run towards mine as it readies itself to bring its arm down on me. I jump upwards cleaving off its arm. It roars in pain as its limb falls in front of it. I turn midair and bring my sword down into the back of its neck killing it in an instant. The battle was over. Matt and Dez walked to the temple and grabbed the other black knight piece. With our relics in hand and no other creatures to get in our way we returned to Beacon.

We step up onto the stage awaiting Ozpins decision, the screens on either side of the stage showing a picture of each of us and a letter.

"Ace Wolfblade, Zweii Dragos, Dezaryl Ravenhawk, and Matthew Erthanos. The four of you recovered the black knight pieces. From here on out you will be known as, Team: AZRE, led by… Ace Wolfblade." The audience applauds.

'What? _Me,_ leader?' I definitely wasn't expecting that one. First I make it into Beacon and now I'm in charge of my own team? Someone above must really like me. I nod accepting my role. "Thank you sir." I say with gratitude. We walk off the stage to allow the next team to be formed.

"Aw man. You're leader?" Matt whined. "Now I really do have to listen to you huh?"

"I guess so. But I'll still have to listen to you guys too. Were all equal here. I just get to make the executive decisions."

Two teams later and the final team was being formed. The four girls from last night.

"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team: RWBY, led by… Ruby Rose." The blond haired girl brought the younger sister and new leader in for a hug. "Things are turning out to be an interesting year."

'Yes, yes they are.'


	5. Chapter 4

**Petals Scatter Pt 1: Every Rose has its Thorns**

It had been a week since the rigorous initiation in the Emerald Forest. With teams established and dorms assigned, the students were resting comfortably in their new living quarters. All of them slept peacefully through the night. All of them except for one Ruby Rose.

She was back in her home, a small cottage near the woods; snow covered the area as far as the eye could see. The house looked untouched by anyone, everything in neat order but void of other life.

She was in her room, waiting anxiously, and worry evident in her face. She shouldn't be worried, this was like the thousandth time this had occurred by now and she always came back. Always. Even still the fear remained evident in her eyes until the sound of the front door opening was heard. Excited, she ran to the kitchen to greet the person she was waiting for. The figure stood there donning a cloak as white as the falling snow. The rest of her whit ensemble was stained red with blood, tarnishing the purity of her outfit.

Ruby with tears of joy in her eyes ran to embrace her. Her happiness was short lived. As she ran she quickly discovered that she was getting no closer to her than when she started. Everything went black as darkness filled the room. The figure began disappearing, into a flurry of white rose petals.

"No… Come back…" The young red and black clad girl cried continuing her futile efforts of reaching the fading woman. "Don't leave me… I need you."

No response ever came from the other female before she completely disappeared. She was gone and Ruby was alone, tears streaming down her face. She fell to her knees sobbing as the house around her evaporated into a black ash around her. When the house was gone the woods too disappeared and the scene was replaced by an icy cliff side. Ruby sat crying in front of a lone grave marker sat at the edge.

"RUBY!" a familiar voice resonated through the forest calling her. It was her sisters' voice.

"YANG!" she answered back looking for the direction of her sisters' call.

"RUBY!" her sister called out once again, her voice emanating from the forest behind the cliff side.

"I'm coming!" Ruby yelled, desperately trying to compose herself from her distraught state. Running into the forest as fast as her legs could take her she searched for Yang. When she finally arrived to her destination, nothing could have prepared her for the scene that played out before her. Any ounce of calm and control she had acquired was shattered.

Her sister sat before her against a tree, beaten and bloody. Her glorious golden hair was covered with her own blood and her face was void of her usual smile.

"Yang… No…" Ruby wept in front of her sister, desperately reaching towards her, only to see her sisters' form slowly begin to fade into wisps of golden flame. The last thing Ruby saw of her was Yang's deep lilac eyes close for the final time as she too left Ruby.

Ruby's small heart was quickly breaking and yet her misery did not end there. She soon found herself watching Blake fighting for her life against an Ursa, already bleeding and losing. Blake launched herself at the Ursa with Gambol Shroud prepared to end the beast's life, only to be stopped by a single fierce strike sending her to the ground. Her weapon had been sent across the forest floor out of her reach. She tried to get up only to scream in pain clutching her right arm which she quickly discovered was broken.

Ruby knew she should run to aid her teammate but her body refused to move. She could only watch in horror as the Ursa returned to finish the job. With another swipe of its arm, Blake burst into an explosion of black smoldering petals. "Life isn't always like a fairy tale," Her voice lingering for a moment for its final sounding. "We don't always have a happy ending." And with that Blake's voice faded and ceased.

Ruby felt sick to her stomach, wanting to throw up her very soul as Blake's final words echoed in her mind. Ruby unable to cope with what was going on, clutched her head with both hands, screaming through her pain. "Make it stop!"

Her pleas were unheard as she found Weiss lying in the snow. Her face was like Yang's, covered with blood. Her white bolero jacket was gashed open to reveal deep wounds across her abdominal cavity. Myrtenaster was beside her, blade broken much like its wielder.

"You complete dunce," She spat at Ruby with such venom in her words that Ruby recoiled back like she had just been bit by a King Taijitu. "I knew you weren't fit to be a leader." The broken fencer continued as her ice blue eyes stared daggers of glass into Ruby. "You're… Such a… Dolt." Weiss coughed before her body became one with the snow she rested on.

It had become official. Ruby was alone. Completely undeniably alone, left to wallow in her sadness. A Beowolf came charging from the forest straight on a collision course with the emotionally broken Ruby. She reached for her weapon to find that Crescent Rose was not with her. She looked back to the Beowolf with great and sudden fear in her silver eyes. This was it for her. Her final moment had arrived. Everything she held dear to her was gone and the dreams she lived for came crashing down around her in her mind. She braced herself for the end as the Beowolf lunged at her, as she let loose her final blood curdling scream.

She awoke with such suddenness she made herself sick. Her head felt light and her breathing was erratic as she desperately gasped for air. Her heart was racing at a million miles an hour and her small body was drenched in a cold sweat. She looked around the room frantically to find all her teammates sleeping peacefully. Ruby, as relieved as she was to see her friends and sister unharmed, returned her thoughts to her nightmare. Curling into as small of a ball as humanly possible she wrapped her arms around her slender legs and began to cry.

After a while she began to calm, looking at the clock. It read 1: 34 AM. It was late but thankfully she realized it was Sunday morning, so there were no classes to attend to later in the day. Even if this wasn't the case Ruby didn't feel like returning to her sleep as to avoid re-experiencing her night terror.

She silently grabbed her combat attire and made her way to the bathroom to change. She moved silently as she didn't wish to wake the others. After her clothes were changed she made her way out to the cliff side overlooking the Emerald Forest. Sitting, she gazed at the endless sea of deep green tree canopy that made up the top of the forest. As much as she feared the thought, the young Huntress in training wanted to be alone to think.

Her solitude quickly diminished as she noticed a dark figure some distance away making its way into the forest. Curiosity getting the better of her she stood up and decided to follow it, maintaining a safe distance away so she would go undetected as she followed the mysterious new presence.

The trek didn't last long as the target stopped not even halfway into the forest. Ruby quickly hid behind a nearby tree while trying to maintain visual on the figure. It was tall and draped in the night's darkness.

The clouds that hung in the sky shifted from their positions shielding the bright crumbled moon, giving the slightest increase in illumination. This new found light pierced through the canopy revealing the figure to be human, a student it seemed. He sported battle armor comprised of many bony plates from Grimm, an interesting and shocking discovery for the young scythe wielder. He boasted a large sword on his left side and something else on his back but it was too dark to make out.

'What was someone other than herself doing out in the forest so late at night?' She wondered to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of paws charging closer to the boy's location. A Beowolf appeared as quickly as the sound could only watch as it growled, leaping at the student.

Ruby tried to warn the swordsman but her voice failed her. Her body yet again failed her as her fear returned, coursing through every fiber of her body like a paralyzing agent. The Beowolf's figure descended from the air at the mysterious warrior. Its efforts were in vain as the boy rolled out of the way unscathed. This gave Ruby some relief however slight it may have been.

The beast continued its attack while the boy dodged every one of its strikes with ease. What was odd was that he wasn't reaching to draw his weapon to end this barrage of teeth and claws. Still the boy continued to evade harm without use of his weapon. But it all came to an end when he stumbled backwards over an exposed root in the ground, falling unceremoniously to the ground below.

The Beowolf finally had its opening and did not waste it. The beast leapt straight at the fallen boy, who despite his current situation did not express any fear. The Beowolf was upon him and Ruby's eyes widened with terror at the boys inevitable demise. She couldn't watch and swiftly turned away, bracing herself for the cries of pain that were soon to follow from the fallen warrior.

The screams never came, only… laughter? Ruby was beyond scared and on the verge of having a heart attack and all she could her was laughter? She cautiously looked back to the scene to find the Beowolf gently licking at the boy's face while he sat against the tree laughing. Finally the boy found his voice sputtering through his laughter.

"Ok, ok enough, cut it out, I'm glad to see you too. Sit boy." He commanded the beast, which to Ruby's surprise and confusion readily complied. The boy paused for a moment and started scanning the forest around him, stopping when his gaze met Ruby's direction. "You can come out now." He called out, a small grin appearing on his face.

Ruby slowly revealed herself from her hiding place. She was met with the stares of the boy and the creature focused on her. She was beyond confused. At that moment her quickly growing number of conflicting emotions overwhelmed her, sending her into mental shutdown. She fainted collapsing to the leaf littered ground below.

**A/N: Well I promised an early chapter didn't I? I just never said when. Yes its pretty short compared to the last couple of chapters but I think the first Part of each arc is pretty short. So be honest. Did the beginning make you feel? was it emotionally touching. Personally I like the parts of the story like that the most. So much emotion. Go on and drop a review if you want to voice your opinion. If this didn't tug a few heart strings then I need to do better. That or you guys are some cold individuals. Weiss Cold. No not even I can resist the crappy puns.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Petals Scatter Pt 2: The Big Bad Beowolf**

As I walk through the Emerald Forest heading back to the cliff side, I couldn't help but wonder 'How do I always find myself in these kinds of situations?' I've had quite a few but this one easily tops them all.

Not only had a secret that I was hoping to keep hidden for at least the first year been discovered, but not five minutes later do I find myself slowly trekking back to Beacon carrying an adorable young girl, who had passed out due to said discovery, in my arms with my pet Beowolf following behind.

She was cradled in my arms like she was nothing more than an infant. I could feel her every breath as she rested contently against my chest. They were calm and steady at the moment. She was without a doubt the living definition of peace and innocence. I feel her shift slightly in my arms, almost burying her face into my right shoulder. "Mom" she sighed as she rested in her new position.

It was my turn to be shocked beyond belief tonight as this fragile girl softly whispered that one word. I stop myself for a moment to look down at her, a smile coming to my face. Soon I resume my steady pace back to the school.

A couple minutes later we reach the forest entrance. As I was about to break the tree line, a certain red and black clad girl stirred from her rest. Her lidded eyes slowly opened revealing her silver orbs, as they stared straight at me.

"Welcome back" I quietly whisper to her. I can see the confusion in her expression as she realized that she was being carried bridal style through the forest by yours truly. "You passed out a few minutes ago and I couldn't just leave you there." I explain hoping to lessen her confusion.

"Oh… Thank you." She tiredly replied, obviously still regaining her energy. I walked her over to a nearby tree and sat her down. There was a moment of silence before anymore words were traded. The wind rustled through the trees as we waited.

"So…" I say finally breaking the near dead silence. "I don't believe we have been properly introduced. I'm Ace. Ace Wolfblade, leader of Team: AZRE at your service. And what might your name be?" I inquire.

"Ruby... My name's Ruby Rose." She answered meekly.

"Ruby… That's a wonderful name. Rare like the very stone and equally as beautiful."

"Wh-what?" She asked seeming quite flustered.

"Huh? Oh sorry. Just thinking out loud. I didn't mean to upset you."

"No it's fine, I'm just not used to receiving such complements from strangers." She blushed.

"Didn't we just introduce ourselves? I would hardly think we qualify as strangers. But I do see your point. This is only our first meeting after all." More silence. "So you're the girl that's the talk of Vale, huh?"

"The talk of Vale?"

"Youngest student to be accepted into Beacon in all of history, two years ahead of her time, people are going to talk."

"It was no big deal really. Just got lucky I guess, ya know?"

"Luck is hardly the word for it." I object.

"Well I get to go to school with my big sister so that's pretty lucky."

"I suppose so, but luck doesn't get you into Beacon, skill does."

"Yeah I was pretty excited either way. First day was rough though." She frowned.

"I can tell, you're the girl who exploded by the Schnee girl."

"Oh… you heard about that too?" She asked embarrassed.

"I saw that, I was there." I reply with a slight chuckle. "So why don't you tell me a little bit more about yourself?" She seemed to recoil slightly at the suggestion.

"I don't even know where to begin." She said fidgeting with her hair.

I think for a moment. "How about you introduce me to your weapon?" I suggest. This actually brought some excitement to her eyes.

"Okay," She smiled as she got up and retrieved her weapon from its resting position on her back. She activates its release form and the small red slab of metal unfolded into a a massive black and red combat scythe. "This is my sweetheart, Crescent Rose." She beamed.

"Now that's an impressive weapon. Did you make it?"

"Of course. All students at Signal forge their own weapons."

"Signal? You went there too?"

"Wait you went to Signal as well?" She asked with surprise.

"Sure did. Never saw you or your sister though. I would have remembered that gold mane and your face."

"Wait. How do you know what my sister looks like if you never met her?"

"I saw you and her bickering with those two other girls. You four talk very loudly."

"Sorry about that." She began poking her fingers together.

"No your fine."

"So you went to Signal too. Did you make your weapon there too?"

"No, I smithed my weapon before I even went there. My family runs a long line of blacksmiths and I happen to be the next extension."

"You get to make weapons for a living!? That's so cool!"

"It has its advantages. This is my first and most personal weapon, Lunar Fang." I explain as I draw my weapon from its sheath.

"Wow, is that a claymore with shotgun functionality?"

"Yes it is. You know your weapons well."

"I'm kind of a weapon nut." She confesses looking down at her feet.

"You uh, wanna hold it?"

"YES! I mean if it's ok with you." I place the blade in her hands and she practically gushes with excitement. I smile knowing my craftsmanship was being admired. I steal a look at the still unfolded scythe.

"Crescent Rose is pretty interesting. She's a High Caliber Sniper Scythe right? I noticed the clip at the handle. Pretty dangerous weapon for a young girl." I observe.

"Yeah Ozpin said the same thing. I even made it to where the blade can fold back for sweeping slashes."

"That's very ingenious of you. I don't think I would have thought of that." She hands back my weapon but stares at my back for some reason.

"What are those on your back?" Oh she spotted my katanas.

"Oh these? Those are my second crafted weapons. They're twin katanas. I call them Kokoro and Tamashii. It means Mind and Soul. Always together and perfectly balanced, yet still two separate blades forged from the same steel. They're capable of forming a twin blade by joining at the hilt."

"Why two completely different weapons?"

"Pays to be prepared I guess. I practice with all the weapons I've made. These are my favorites. Who taught you to use Crescent Rose?"

"My Uncle Qrow, he…"

"Qrow from Signal? He's your uncle? That man is a genius. No wonder you got accepted into Beacon with skill. He's a true master."

"Yeah he's pretty awesome. He taught me most of what I know. You should have seen us training against a pack of Beowolves, they were…" She stopped so suddenly as if she just had an epiphany. "Uh when I found you, you were fighting a Beowolf right?"

I was really hoping she had forgotten that little detail. Oh well, might as well get this over with. "Yes I guess I was, why?"

"What happened to it?" she asked getting increasingly nervous. "Is it…"

"Dead? No, he's right behind you." I point in the direction over her shoulder. She frantically turns her head to confirm this and finds the Beowolf indeed on the other side of the tree sleeping.

"AHH!" she screams briefly jumping into my arms. 'Again, really?' With her sudden outburst the beast awoke and made his way in front of us.

"Ruby, relax. He won't hurt you. Ruby this is Shadow. He's my… Pet." As if to confirm this Shadow immediately sat down revealing a blue collar and tag.

"P-Pet? How?" She questioned.

"*Sigh* It happened years ago. I was out hunting on my own when I came across an Ursa attacking a Beowolf. It looked like a fight for territory at first but on closer inspection the Ursa was picking on it because it had an injury making it an easy target. I could see that the Beowolf neither had the capability or the intent to fight back. The Ursa was attacking because the Beowolf couldn't protect itself. As a huntsman in training, I was taught to defend those who couldn't defend themselves. It was instinct really. Before the Ursa could end the Beowulf's life I charged in and cut it down. Shadow was that Beowolf." I stop and look at him for a second. I found a nearby cave and carefully brought him to it to avoid other attacks. He never once attacked. I ran home and brought some things to treat his wounds and some food."

"Why? Why would you risk your life to save a Grimm?" She asks with disbelief.

"In truth I really don't know what possessed me to do it. I guess I just felt there was something different about him." I pause and pet Shadow on the top of his head electing a tail wag. I came back every day for a week to feed him and nurse his wounds. The first days were awkward. He'd growl a little but wouldn't move. He hardly ate anything I brought him either. After a few days he stopped growling and ate more. Eventually he became much better than when I found him. On the last day something happened that changed our lives forever."

"When I arrived at the cave Shadow wasn't there. I left to look for him and that's when an Ursa came out of nowhere and attacked me. I was too surprised to draw my weapons. I was on the floor at the mercy of an Ursa in moments. Then Shadow came to my rescue. He lunged at the Ursa and butted it off of me. They began to fight and after a while the Ursa was losing. Shadow ended the fight a bite to the throat. He had repaid his debt. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here now. We've been together ever since. Needless to say my parents were less than excited about housing a creature such as him, but in time Shadow grew on them he became just another part of the family."

"But he's Grimm." Ruby piped up. "All they have ever been known for is killing and evil." She stated in a matter-of –fact kind of tone.

"Things aren't always so black and white I guess. I don't believe there really is such a thing as beings of pure evil or good. Every creature has the potential for good and bad, Grimm are no exception. Would something pure evil save my life? I think not. We are told that Grimm are born without souls, but that's something we can neither prove or disprove. Even if he's the only one, I feel that Shadow does have a soul." I conclude.

Ruby looks down at Shadow, who is sitting right at her feet, and slowly reaches toward him. He complies by gently putting his muzzle into her hand. She smiles at him. "I guess so."

"Unfortunately now that you know my secret," I address her with a dead serious tone. "I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

* * *

**A/N Hey everybody. Remember how I said I was only going to only post once a week? Well if you do then your probably wondering why I'm posting so early again. Well since it is October and Halloween is fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to include a Halloween Special to my story. But I have like seven chapters I want to post before I get to that particular special. With one a week that would be impossible. So for the length of October I will be ramping up production to hit the deadline. If all goes well I will have a chapter out every Monday/Wednesday and Friday ending with the special on Halloween. At least that's the plan. As for the special it won't have anything significant to the actual story. It's for fun. I just got the idea for it and I thought it was too good to pass up.**

**On another note, It has been brought to my attention that OC stories don't normally have a good reputation with the community, something I found out a little late. I sympathize with those who have the impression that most if not all of them are Over powered, God Modded, or absolutely boring. I would like to assure you that I will not be trying to do that at all with my characters. Characters that can win with ease against anything and everything are boring and it defeats the purpose of students going to a school to learn if they already know everything. If anything I hope my writing has shown that my OCs have reasonable limits like everyone else in the RWBY Universe. So if OCs really tick you off then you are entitled to your opinions. I will continue writing regardless.**

**Also if you have been reading you will notice that the chapter titles are no longer in the chapter selection tab and have been replaced by the number of the chapter itself. The Titles have been moved to the actual story. Why? Because I like making long chapter titles and the character limit sucks. So I have updated the current chapters and from now on the rest will follow suit.**

**Last but not least... Yay Shadow! I know that the idea has been done before if not to death but I've only read of one story that did that with a Beowolf so far. I wanted to do this from the moment I saw them in the show. In case you haven't figured it out I freaking love wolves. I've always wanted at least a hybrid as a pet and Shadow would be the name I would have picked (because I like the generic classics) if I ever got one. Don't like it, tough. He isn't going anywhere... Except maybe the V-E-T for his vaccination.**

**That about wraps up everything today so read on, review, and I will catch you guys on Friday. **


	7. Chapter 6

**Petals Scatter Pt 3: A Rose Blooms in the Moonlight**

"Wh-What!?" She practically screamed.

"I can't let you leave," I continue past her outburst. "Until you tell me what brought you out her so late at night." I finish calmly.

Ruby's expression had shifted from fear, to confusion, and ended on anger. Each face she made… Priceless.

"You should have seen the look on your face," I chuckle, trying but failing to hold back a grin. "You looked like you thought I was going to throw you in a pit of angry King Taijitus."

"You jerk!" She yells back slugging me in the arm. I know it was a bad joke but seriously, why did she have to hit so hard? She's definitely stronger than she looks. She almost dead-armed me through my armor. "You scared the life out of me!"

"I am serious though." I return in a continued calm tone. "I'm not going to harm you but I want to know why you came out here."

"Oh I just saw you walking into the forest from the cliff side so I came to investigate."

"No I mean, why are you out so late by yourself? Is there something bothering you?" I ask with genuine care.

"I… Uh… It's embarrassing." She replied, the nervousness returning in her voice.

"I'm not here to judge. You can tell me."

She didn't respond.

"Come on I'm wearing Grimm armor and keep a Beowolf as a pet, it can't be any worse than that."

"I… Had a nightmare. I came out to cliff to think." The young girl finally answered. Now we're cooking with dust. Something I actually wouldn't recommend doing if you value your life.

"Nightmares are nothing to be ashamed of Ruby. We all have them from time to time. Mind telling me why it's distressing you?" Again, silence. She just looked down avoiding eye contact. This was obviously more than a simple nightmare.

"Ruby this dream is obviously hurting you. I want to help you but I can't do much if you don't let me. If you don't want to tell me I understand but please, tell somebody. Anybody. If you don't, this will only continue to haunt you."

"I lost them…" she started, eyes still transfixed on the ground. "I lost them all and I couldn't do anything to stop it." Tears formed in her silver eyes.

"What, what did you lose?" I question carefully.

As we sit down at the base of the tree she begins to detail her dream. It wasn't pretty to say the least. She told me of the woman leaving her. How everything she loved and cared about were ripped from her life as she could only watch, powerless to prevent it. How she was all alone. It was tragic. She finished as the dream had ended and she was on the verge of tears, but she was trying so hard to hold them back.

"Ruby, I'm sorry. That's a lot to deal with, especially for a young girl." She nods in agreement.

"Ruby, don't hold back your emotions."

"W-what?" She squeaked. "I'm, I'm fine, really." She said stubbornly, putting on the saddest smile I've ever seen.

"Ruby you're not fooling anyone, especially me. If you were fine we wouldn't be here right now. The look on your face says it all. I know you're trying to be strong, but in the end you're only going to hurt yourself more." I turn her to face me. "So let it all out, it's okay. Cry all night if you have to. I'll stay here to help you through. And if you need a shoulder to cry on, then allow me to offer my own."

That did it. The dam that she had put against her tears broke as they started to fall from her eyes. She broke into a soft cry that quickly intensified in strength and volume. I pull her closer for the comfort I promised. She accepted it without hesitation, wrapping her small arms around my left arm and burying her face into my shoulder. She clung on to it as if she was hanging on to life itself. Tears streamed down her face and onto my arm, but it didn't matter. This was the way it should be for her sake.

Her cries were muffled by my arm but only slightly. She was truly giving it her all. I move my free arm behind her, planting it on her back, rubbing small circles of comfort. We sat there like that for some time. Ruby's cries started to lessen as she began to settle down, her loud wailing turning into soft sobs. She released her hold on me.

"Feel better?" I ask with a warm smile.

She nods gently. "T-Thank you." She sniffles.

"No problem. Ruby, who was the woman in the beginning of your dream?"

"My… my mother. She was a Huntress and she would always go on important missions. One day she never came back. We found out she was killed in action. I didn't want to believe it but it was true. I lost her." She sobbed.

"So your nightmare might have something to do with your mother's passing. The pain you felt was so great you never wanted to feel it again. But now that you're here at Beacon you have a team and you fear losing your friends."

"I don't want to lose someone like that ever again" She choked out. "It hurt more than anything I've ever felt before."

"Ruby in our line of work we all face a very real danger of harm. You know this very well. We don't all come back." That probably wasn't what she wanted to hear as her mouth formed an even deeper frown. "But that is why we are here. To learn and become stronger, not only for ourselves but for those around us. Your teammates are no exception. As you learn and grow they will too. You all seem like a capable team. They won't be leaving you for a very long time. I know it. And I tell you what; I promise that I won't leave either. One more person to stick by your side."

"I just don't want to fail them as a leader. I've never led anyone before and now I have three. I'm scared that I'm going to mess up. Aren't you scared too?"

"I am, it's a great responsibility I never dreamed of having. And while I worry that I may make a bad decision, I trust the strength of my team and they seem to trust me. Ozpin gave you a tremendous burden Ruby. He wouldn't do that if he didn't think you could do it."

"He told me something like that a few days ago, after Weiss told me she wasn't exactly pleased with me being leader. She has trained and studied hard to be a leader. I got it through dumb luck."

"You have so much skill and potential, it's what brought you to Beacon two years ahead of schedule. Ozpin giving you this position is his way of teaching you responsibility. Weiss knows what it means to be a leader. You still need to learn. Besides, why do you care what she thinks about the situation anyhow?"

"Because I think I'm scared of failing her the most. After our rough start I wanted to make sure I could prove to her that I belonged here, that I wasn't some incapable child. I don't know why but after my talk with Ozpin she told me she thought that I could be a good leader. I don't want to make her regret that. I'm trying to do my best at being a good leader but I… I don't know if I can do this." She starts breathing unevenly. "I want to so badly but it's hard and it scares me. I don't want to fail and I don't want to lose them. I don't want to lose Weiss."

"Why is it so important to you to please someone who from day one only saw you as a hazard?"

"We're friends now, I think, and I'm her teammate. I know that she can be cold sometimes," I shift my head. "Ok a lot of the time but deep down I know she has a heart. I know she does, and I think she just has a hard time showing her emotions around others. But I think she opened up enough to be my friend. I really admire her I guess. She's smart and talented, and I'm really glad she let me be her friend in the end. But I don't want her to shut me out again. I want to be a good friend and leader for her. I just don't know if I can."

"You really care for her that much huh?"

"Mhmm."

"Then you have nothing to worry about. Just keep doing the very best that you can and I'm sure she will be proud to call you her friend and leader. Just give her time and get better every day. For her."

"You're right." She finally smiled with new found determination, her very soul flickering in her eyes. "I'm going to be the best leader ever, for her, for everyone. No giving up. I can't fail them so I won't."

"I'm sure you can do it. Now I only have one last thing to figure out."

"What's that?"

"Well while I was carrying you, you muttered something to me that I don't understand. You called me… Mom. What's that about?"

"I dunno. I guess you just kinda made me feel comfortable, safe like Mom did."

"You… You're comfortable around me? Even though I wear this? It kinda has the opposite effect on people."

"Uh huh, it's super cool. I like it. It makes you look like… I dunno, a hero."

"You're the only one who has ever said that. Thank you."

"Well you're a nice person and a good friend."

"Friend?"

"You promise you won't leave me?"

"I swear it on my blade; I will always be there when you need me."

"Then we're best friends." She yawns signaling it was time for her long overdue rest. She was probably beyond exhausted. She tried to get up but stumbled a little bit.

"Here I'll take you home. You get some rest. You'll need it to keep your promise."

She nods sleepily. "Thanks again. Oh and your secrets safe with me." She pets Shadow one more time. Soon she fell asleep where she sat. We could all use some rest.

"Shadow, fade." And with that Shadow left back to his hiding spot for the night. I carefully lift the sleeping leader back into my arms and proceed back to Beacon.

When I reached the door I knocked by kicking it to stir someone to open the door. Not a few seconds later, who should be standing there but big sister Yang herself.

"I believe she belongs to you."

*Gasp* "Ruby! Where has she been? I woke up and when I notice she wasn't in her bed I woke everyone else up. The others are worried." She paused looking at Ruby. She could tell that she had been crying and her look of worry changed to a look of rage. Her eyes literally turned red and her hair was on fire. Blake came to the door with Weiss not too far behind her. The young heiress was first to speak.

"Ruby!" She quietly shouted, not wanting to wake the girl.

"Here." I direct my words to the surprisingly concerned girl, placing Ruby in her arms. She takes her up to her bed. Most hazardous bunk beds ever. Yang's fury still hasn't subsided and it's starting to scare me.

"YOU!" She yells pointing at me. In a flash of gold I was smashed into the neighboring wall with a fist poised to punch my lights out. 'I'm in trouble.'

"Why was she crying!? What did you do to her!? I swear if you did anything to hurt her I will end you!"

Forget about Matt's eruptions. This girl's rage rivaled a supernova.

"Well!?"

"I didn't do anything to harm her. I'm not a monster despite my appearance."

"Don't lie to me!" The heat of her fire was intensifying. I'm not even sure she's capable of rational thought right now she's so angry.

Suddenly a hand appeared on her shoulder. It was Blake's. "Yang calm down for a moment and at least hear him out." Finally a rational person. Of course that's what I thought until she flashed me a glare that told me that told me I better have a good explanation or she might even help the fiery blonde.

"She had a nightmare." They both look at each other than back to me with confusion. "She went to the cliff to think and clear her mind and she happened to spot me entering the Emerald Forest."

"What were you doing out there?" the ebony haired girl asked.

"I like long moon light walks in the woods." I reply with sarcasm. Although that's not technically false. I do like the night life. "Anyway she followed me and one thing led to another and we talked. That's all. She told me about her dream and we talked."

"So why was she crying?" The blonde brawler asked anger still evident in her tone.

"Because that dream hurt her more than you can imagine. There was so much pain in her and it was destroying her, and I couldn't bear to let that happen. So I told her to let it out, for her sake. She cried and she cried for a long time. I guess it's partly my fault she cried but I did it to help her, not hurt her. If you don't believe me you can ask her in the morning. Right now she deserves a good, peaceful night's sleep. She's going through a lot."

There, hopefully I would not have to suffer the fiery wrath of the- "Oof." Or maybe I would. I feel a restrained but powerful punch to my gut as I'm dropped to the ground in pain. Pains good though. Pain means I'm alive.

"Consider that a warning." Her eyes were no longer red, but her usual lilac purple and a small grin escaped across her still serious face. "Just so you know what will happen if you do hurt her."

"I'll remember that… Ow." I clutch my gut trying to collect the air that was knocked out of me.

"You better, cuz that's only a small taste of the pain I'll give ya if you ever harm my baby sister."

Blake helps me to my feet and returns to the dorm room. Yang still stood there looking at me, her expression softening.

"Hey sorry about punching you like that. I just want to protect her that's all." She said with a hint of embarrassment.

"Oh don't worry about it. I understand. I'm kinda use to being smashed by Matthew's Iron Fist."

"Thanks for looking after my little sis. As you heard I'm her older sister Yang."

"It was my honor. I'm Ace. You have a wonderful leader there you know. She really cares about you guys."

"That's Ruby. Despite her speed she's pretty slow to make friends, but she really does care about others. Sometimes more than herself."

"I can relate to that."

"So what did she dream about?"

"It's not my place to say. I will say this though. Make sure you're always there for her, all of you, cause if you don't, I will be the one giving the pummeling's. I don't have many friends myself but I take care of the few I do have."

"Imma hold you to that. Night Wolfie" She ends returning to her room.

"Night Yang, Ruby."

And with that it was time for me to retire to my own room. Thank dust it's the weekend.


	8. Chapter 7

**Forging Bonds: Friendship Strengthens**

This is pure torture. I would rather give a piggy back ride to an Ursa while it bit off my head than endure this. It's still going? For the love of Remnant make it stop!

Professor Port decided to grace us with yet another one of his countless self-praising hunting tales. Today's story involved him taking on a Nevermore with a pick-axe and one of the beasts feathers. Picture that for a moment if you will. I thought we were supposed to be taking Grimm Biology not Tall Tales of Professor Port 101. Hmm, maybe he _should_ write a book on it. I'm sure all the insomniacs out there would get some sleep after a couple of pages.

But in all seriousness, we get like twenty minutes of actual lecture and the rest of the class turns into story time. I understand being proud of your work but you don't have to beat us over the head with it… Unless you're like me and make weapons, which are meant for that in some cases, but even still. Seriously I would be fine with the occasional story but at least one a day rubs the glamour of it all right off really quickly.

Most students were struggling to stay awake as the story droned on, while others were communicating with their friends via their scrolls. I am trying with all my might not to put my fist trough the table. Then there was Matt who was completely entranced by the veteran Huntsman's tale. Only Matthew could withstand the constant barrage of stories and still find them entertaining. If anything he's getting ideas. This school is going to change him, for better or for worse is to be determined.

As Port's story drew to a close the other students snapped out of whatever they were doing instead of listening to his prattle.

"We're all out of time for today. Review your notes on Death Stalker anatomy and keep up with your training. Class dismissed." Finally.

My team meets up in the hallway to return to our dorm for the day. Matt was going on about a level in one of his role-playing games for the game console he brought with him to Beacon to play on his down time.

Speaking of which, ever since our team was formed, we really hadn't had any time to sit down and get to know each other any better. Matt and I know pretty much all there is to know about each other but we know very little about our new friends and vice versa. We know their names but not the past behind them. I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious as to what _their_ stories could reveal. I think it's high time I called a friendly team bonding session.

As we entered our shared room, and before anyone could be left to their own vices, I get all of their attention. "All right team, it's time for a very important team meeting." Everyone turns to face me.

"Oh, oh, are we getting a dangerous mission from Ozpin?" Matt asks bursting with excitement.

"I think it's a little too early for us to be getting such missions yet Matt." Dez said evenly to his partner.

"Dez is right Matt we just got here." I tell Matt, the hammer wielder drooping with disappointment. "No the meeting is for the betterment of our team and friendship. We finally have some free time so I thought it would be nice if we could just sit down and learn more about each other. We're going to be working with each other for four years so by learning more about each other will help us function better as a team in the long run." I explain, giving proper reasoning.

"I guess that makes sense." Zweii states, apparently convinced by my argument.

"Hmm, if you think that's what is best than okay." Dez said quite reluctantly. Something is troubling him about this. What I do not know.

"What about you Matt?" I turn to face him. It's now I notice he hasn't moved or spoken since the idea was pitched. His smile was gone and his eyes were focused on anything but the people in the room. Something's not right with him too. "Matt?"

"Ace can I talk to you for a bit?" he inquired somberly.

"Uh yeah, of course. If you guys will excuse us for a moment." They nod and we step out into the hallway. "Okay Matt what's up? You look like you're about to lose it."

"I'm just worried ok?"

"Worried about what? I've know you for a long time and pretty much know you inside and out. You've got nothing to hide so what's got you so worked up?"

"I'm not worried about myself. I'm worried about you."

'Oh. Right.'

"Ace you're my best friend and your right. We've known each other for a long time. I also know and accept your secrets, but I'm worried about what they will think if they find out."

"Matt, thank you. I appreciate your concern. It means a lot that you care that much. But this is just to learn more, not all, about our teammates. In time I'll let them know, but now is not that time. Even if they find out and cast me away, I still have you by my side, right?"

"Always." We both smile.

Matt's right though. People are always nice until they find the one thing that makes them turn their backs on me. Because of that I have to be careful about how much I let them know.

We return to the room to get the meeting started. "Okay we're back. So before we get this started I want to address a concern Matt brought up. We are just here so that we may learn more about our team. If there is anything that you are willing to share or feel is important than please share. On the other hand if there is something that you are too uncomfortable or wish to remain secret then you do not have to tell us. Are we understood?" All heads nod. "Alright then, let's get started. I will even go first as a model." We all sit down in a circle on the floor.

"My name is Ace Wolfblade, I'm 17 years old but who here isn't, right? I was born in the late of May. Easy stuff. I've lived in the rural part of Vale all of my life. My family runs a blacksmith forge. While I could have stayed home and continued living a safer life working there, I felt that I could give more to the world. I naturally like to help people so when I factored it all together, becoming a Huntsman was obvious. You all already know about Shadow so I think that about does it. And that is the Life and Times of Me volume one. Alright Matt, your turn."

Before he can start Zweii interrupts. "Wait, that's all? That's all you want from us?"

"Pretty much. Just some simple stuff followed by where you're from and the reason why you came here in the first place. Not much but I think it's a good start. Go ahead Matt."

"I'm Matthew Erthanos. I'm also 17 and was born in February. I lived in the city area of Vale until my family moved us out to the rural area to escape the noise of the city. Dad always wanted to have a nice home in the country side. As for why I wanted to become a Huntsman…"

Zweii interrupts again. "Let me guess. You always wanted to bash the Grimm into non-existence right?"

Matt looked down rather dejectedly. "No not really." He confessed. "I originally didn't want to hunt monsters. It wasn't something I ever saw myself doing."

Zweii and Dez sat there dumbfounded. Dez spoke next. "So what made you change your mind?"

"Ace did. Shortly after we moved to the country, my sister and I went walking through the nearby woods. We were so used to living in the safety of the city that we forgot about the danger of the Grimm. We were attacked by a huge Nevermore. It must have been as big as a small car. It pinned me to a tree with one of its feathers and tried to take off with my little sister Ashlynn. I felt so helpless as I watched my own sister being taken away from me. Then Ace came to our rescue. I don't even know where he came from but I didn't care. With some quick work he freed my sister and killed that cursed bird. My sister lives because Ace was there. While I was happy about that, I also hated it. I hated myself for being so powerless. If Ace hadn't happened to be around my sister would be dead. I made a vow that day to become a Huntsman So I wouldn't have to be so weak ever again. I didn't come here for fame or glory. I came here so that I could become stronger, so I could protect the ones I love with my own two hands." He finishes clenching is hands into fists.

"Wow. Sounds like you owe Ace a lot." Zweii states.

"Not as much as you think." They all turn their attention to me. "In truth I owe Matt more, but that's a story for another day. Zweii you're next."

"My name is Zweii Dragos and I'm 17. I was born in the middle of October in a small town in the North of Atlas, up in the mountains. The reason I came here is to prove myself and my worth."

"To who?"

"My family. My father's side of the family comes from a long line of warriors whose origins can be traced to since mankind first established the kingdoms. I wanted to be like them and carry on the tradition, but before I can do that I need to prove my strength and courage to be worthy for my father to pass down the torch. Call it a writ of passage."

"Even after you display skill in combat you still aren't good enough?" I ask with disbelief.

He nods. "He said that killing monsters wasn't enough. That there were some things that I needed to learn and experience before I was ready. He never told me specifically what they were, only that I would have to find the answers for myself but also that I wouldn't be able to do it alone. I'm here to figure out what he meant by that. If any place would be the place to start it's here."

"… That. Is. Awesome!" Matt exclaimed. "It's like an epic quest for a cryptic secret."

"Yes but this is serious Matt. It's not like one of your video games. This is a fight for my future and my family's honor."

"Doesn't make it any less cool."

"Alright that just leaves you Dez." I state drawing the other two's attention to the final member of our group.

"Alright. My name is Dezaryl Ravenhawk. I was born and raised in Mistral and my birthday is in June. As for why I'm here well, it's not really as exciting as any of your reasons. Before I came here I lived in Mistral with my family. We lived a pretty decent life there until a couple of years ago. We were housed in an apartment for the longest until one day changed all of that. There was an accident involving a small amount of Burn dust. The building went up in flames so fast. We weren't there when it happened but when we got back everything was gone. No one was killed but there were a few injuries. We lost everything in that fire. We had nowhere to go in Mistral so we moved here and started living with my Aunt and Uncle. Dad and Mom couldn't find work though and we needed the money bad. A friend of my Uncle taught me how to hunt and I eventually took unofficial jobs cleaning out Grimm."

"Like a mercenary." Matt chimed in.

Dez nods. "I had to support my family. So after a while I decided I would use some of the money to come here. I'm here to become a Huntsman so that I can support my family and get us back to way things used to be. I would do anything for them and if that means risking my life then so be it."

"That's a very noble reason for you to be here. You should be proud of yourself." Zweii says commending the young archer.

"No matter the reason why we are here, we all have something in common." I start. "We have each other now and we are going to work hard together to reach our goals. We are a team now and we don't have to do this on our own. As team leader and your friend, your goals become my goals, and I won't rest until we all reach them. Are you guys with me?" I ask trying to rally my troops.

"I'm in." Zweii confirms.

"You don't have to do that you know?" Dez says.

"But I want to. What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't?"

"Well if you really feel that way then I won't object. I'm all for it."

"Yes! This is going to be awesome! We are going to be the best team ever!" Matt fist pumps.

"Well I appreciate everyone's cooperation and enthusiasm with this little endeavor. I think by knowing exactly what we are all fighting for, it will make us that much stronger, so thank you for trusting me and everyone here with your goals. I think this went very well and leaves us with a nice starting place, so meeting adjourned."

Everyone gets up and disperses to their own activities. I walk to the door to leave.

"Where are you going?" Zweii asks.

"For a walk. See you guys later."

I walk up to the roof top of the dorm housing and look around. The view is wonderful. I gaze at all of Beacon as I think back to the meeting. My scroll interrupts with an alert telling me that I had received a message. From Matt.

_'__So when do you think you're going to tell them?'_

I text my reply.

_'__I don't know. Soon I hope.'_

Another message from Matt.

_'__Just be careful.'_

_'__I will. They're our teammates though. They deserve to know.'_

_'__Are you worried?'_

_'__I think you already know the answer to that. But I'm going to tell them everything. One step at a time.'_

_'__Hey remember when you said you owed me more?'_

_'__Yes.'_

_'__You don't really mean that do you? You saved me and my sister. I can never repay you for that.'_

_'__You never had to, but you already have. Anyone can save a life. Very few can give one.'_

_'__If you say so. See you when you get back."_

The message exchange ended leaving me alone with my thoughts once more.

"If only more people were like you Matt. Then I wouldn't have to be worried." I mutter to myself. I look into the horizon one last time to see the sun setting. "I'll tell them all. Someday."

**A/N: Yeah not a lot for this chapter other than development but hey it's important. SO this chapter was originally going to be two separate parts but they were too short so now they are one. That is why I didn't post Monday and why I won't be posting this friday. Gives me more time to work on the next chapters and the special. I can't wait for that. So enjoy the story, drop a review or private message to tell me how I'm doing, fav and or follow if you really like it and see you wonderful people Monday.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Shattering the Mirror Pt 1: The Girl Inside**

Friday final came once more to end another week of lecture. The last class couldn't seem to go any slower. Ironic considering the lecture was headed by the green haired, hyper energetic Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck. I don't know what he drinks everyday but I hope to all that is good and decent that Matt or Ruby never gets ahold of any of that substance, ever.

Oobleck was finishing up a lecture on the Human-Faunus Civil War, a sore subject for everyone. What a pointless war. Lives being thrown away over the prejudice and hate between two equal factions of people. If they would have put all that energy to work killing the Grimm instead of people, Grimm would probably be on the verge of extinction by now. Instead we pushed ourselves once more onto the path of annihilation. We were destroying ourselves faster than the Grimm ever could. We truly are our own worst enemies at times aren't we?

With his lecture finished Oobleck hastily gave us our assignments and dashed out of the room faster than we could blink.

_'__Decaf man. Decaf.'_

After gathering our things my team left the room to return to our dorm. As we walk through the halls I see Weiss storm toward the training room. She was scowling more than usual, if that's even physically possible, and despite her ice cold character she looked like she would set you ablaze just by staring at you. Clearly something has frustrated her to no end. I was torn about what I should do.

_'__Ace this is none of your business. Just leave her alone so you can get some rest.' _My mind reasoned with me.

_'__When has that ever stopped you before? Isn't this what you live to do?' _Another part of my conscious reminds me.

_'__I think we should make an exception on this one. I don't feel like being buried in a coffin of ice.'_

_'__But she needs help. We have to do something.'_

Ugh, and this is why I never talk to the voices in my head. It never gets anywhere and I'm left with a headache. Dispelling the less than useful voices of my conscious, I decide to go aid her.

"Hey guys you go ahead. I need to check on something." I tell my team as I break from the group.

"Uh-Oh, duty calls huh?" Matt says, completely aware of the business I had to attend to. He knows me and my helpful nature to well. I nod and leave to find the fuming heiress.

I find her venting her frustration on an unfortunate combat drone, maliciously impaling its chest with Myrtenaster. The training dummy had long since fell to the furious fencer, but her onslaught still did not cease. Maiming a robot was probably not enough for her but better it than an actual person.

"I think it's dead." I chide from the doorway. She turns and sets her icy glare on me. As intimidating as it is I must remain undeterred, on the outside at least. "How about you fight something a little more challenging? Like me perhaps?"

"Hmph, your funeral." She replies harshly.

We take our places on either side of the training ground and ready our weapons. I choose speed over power to keep up with Weiss's rapid attacks and ready Kokoro and Tamashii.

She makes the first move, sliding across the field as if it were made of ice. Her blade was aimed for my chest but I would not allow her rapier to find its mark. I evade to the left and swing connecting my blade with nothing but air. She had already retreated back to her starting position.

I make the next move charging toward her for my attempted strike. She turns the Dust chamber switching to ice dust and firing several projectiles to impede my advance. I repel them and continue farther only to be pushed back by a glyph. Direct attack weren't going to cut it if I wished to land a blow.

I charge forward again and as expected she activates another glyph. That will not work twice. I jump over the barrier and kick her back staggering her a bit. I swing at her hoping to score some hits while she was recovering. No such luck as she back flips out of the way in time to avoid damage.

She returns to the offensive executing several swift thrusts, all of them I deflect with my katanas. I parry her final strike and she retreats once again outside of my range. I need to get close to strike but every time I get near her she slides away. I rush her for the third time but instead of stopping me by deploying another glyph she strikes the ground with her sword sending a wave of ice to intercept me. I don't have much time to react. I dodge to the right avoiding the wave but falling in to her trap. She shoots a single blue bolt in the direction I would soon be. Unable to adjust my course her plan succeeds and the bolt makes contact freezing my right arm. The sheer coldness of the ice makes me drop my sword as it fully encases my appendage.

Satisfied with the result she glides over to my position ready to end the fight. With one arm immobilized I have lost half of my means of defending against any strike effectively for long and I can't use Lunar Fang since it requires two hands for a proper defensive stance. Weiss is close to striking when I make a realization. When she thrusts her rapier I turn and use my frozen arm as a shield, absorbing the impact and the tip of her weapon into her own ice. She's stuck and is unable to retreat without abandoning her weapon. I jerk her weapon out of her hand and rotate my body to deliver a swift punch to her torso with my free arm sending her backwards and onto the ground simultaneously dropping our auras to the red. The battle ends in a draw. I walk over to her and offer her assistance. She hesitates before finally letting me help her off the ground.

"Was that enough to _cool_ you off?" I ask with the least amount of humor I could manage.

"I suppose it will suffice." She answers while dusting off her combat skirt. "Uh your arm?"

"Hmm? Oh!" I reply as it dawned on me that I completely forgot about my frozen limb considering it was now numb from the cold after the fight ended. "On sec." I punch straight down shattering the ice and freeing my arm. I flex my fingers to regain feeling through the thawing muscles. "Ah much better. So wanna tell me what's got you so steamed princess or do I have to start guessing?"

"I hardly believe that's any of your business either way." She defends crossing her arms.

"And I hardly believe that's any way to act when someone offers their help." I reply in an even tone already annoyed by her attitude.

"I don't need your help. I never asked for it in the first place." She retrieves her weapon and walks past me towards the door.

"But you want it." I say unmoving. I hear her footsteps stop as she froze where she stood. 'Gotcha' I mentally fist pump.

"How dare you! All I want is for you to stop acting like those childish, irritating teammates of mine!" She snaps, quickly covering her mouth knowing she had been caught.

"Ah distention in the ranks I see. Thank you for sharing."

"That was an accident!"

"Please, I don't believe the Schnee standards would allow for mistakes let alone admitting to one. You wanted someone to know but you're too prideful to openly admit it."

"I… You… Oooh!" She struggled to form a retort.

_'__Oh this is going to be fun.'_

She dropped her protest and glared. "So what, you want me to talk about it?"

"Yes that's kind of the point of this effort." I deadpan. "But only if you want to, but not here or now."

"And what are you proposing?"

"My dorm, 11:00 tonight. Just think about it." With that I pick up my weapon and leave.

Back at the dorm I find Matt and Dez playing some competitive fighting game on their scrolls, while Zweii was studying Oobleck's notes. He looks over his book as I close the door.

"How did it go?" my partner asks with half interest.

"All things considered, better than I expected." I walk over to Dez. "Hey can I borrow you for a second?"

"Sure just give me a second to beat Matt."

"Watch out for his six button finisher." I warn.

"Wha-" Dez looked down in disbelief as his character was taken out by the combo I warned him about. "How did you…?"

"He does that every time he's about to lose." He glares at Matt as he returns a smirk.

"So what's up?" he asks with a sigh.

"We may have a guest over tonight."

"Okay so what does that have to do with me?"

"Your semblance, Mental Augmentation, I may require its use."

"What'cha thinkin?" I go over the idea with him explaining the details. "I think I can do that, but what's in it for me?"

"How about twenty lien?"

"Hmm."

"And I'll teach you a hidden combo I know to beat Matt."

"Deal."

"Perfect."

As I go over my note from Oobleck's lecture I glance at the clock in our room. The clock read 10:58. Weiss still wasn't here. I actually wouldn't be surprised if she didn't show up. The clock reads 11:00 and she hasn't arrived. With a sigh I look back down to my text to start the next page, when I hear a knock on the door. I open it to find Weiss standing outside with her usual scowl. Her expression softens after a few seconds.

"…You actually came."

"I almost didn't, now are you going to let me in or are you going to keep standing there like a dunce?"

I step aside to comply and she enters the room. "Well I guess just make yourself at home. Matt and Zweii are out for the count after their training session." I gesture to the sleeping half of my team on the far side of the room. "Dez here will be assisting me tonight." He gets up from his chair and gives Weiss a slight bow. She sits on Dez's bed which has been switched with Zweii's for the sake of the plan.

"Your room is much more organized than ours." She observes.

"Thanks. Tea?"

"I would think that coffee would be more appropriate"

"Not for this it's not. If this is going to work you need to be relaxed." She shoots me a puzzled look. "Do you know why I asked you to come here so late?"

"I was actually wondering that, yes."

"It's because you and I need to be asleep for our little chat."

"That doesn't make any sense at all."

"You are not the easiest person to talk to about, well anything actually. As such I needed to make sure that we got to the root of the problem through a different approach. Dezaryl's semblance is perfect for the job."

"My ability grants me a very large field of control over the mind. The less the people I try to use it on resist, the longer I can use it without draining much aura. What Ace wants you to do is to not resist when I use one of my abilities, one I have dubbed Mind Share. This technique allows me to connect two minds, usually my own and an ally, to each other to form a shared mental state between the two people."

"I still don't see how any of this fits together. Are you going to be able to help or not?"

"That depends on how much you are willing to trust me." I reply. "You came here so you must have the slightest trust."

"So you're going to use this technique on me?"

"Yes. I know this may seem very intrusive, which is why I'm offering you a chance to back out. Once we start there is no turning back."

Weiss is silent for a moment. "… This isn't some trick for you to do something humiliating is it?"

"Well so much for trust. No despite what you may be thinking this is to assist you and nothing else."

"…I suppose I came this far, and you did help Ruby so I guess you wouldn't lie, but if I wake up and I find your team has done something I swear I will-"

"_I_ will personally see that they are properly and severely punished for their insubordination. Dez let's start this quickly."

He nods and I take my place on my bed. Weiss lays down in Dez's. He walks up to Weiss and concentrates on her.

"What it's not like I can just fall-" Dez places two fingers on the center of her temple and she drops into a deep sleep. He does the same for me and I drift into sleep.

* * *

Weiss

* * *

It's dark. I can't see anything but black. Where am I? There's nothing around me. How am I even standing? There's no floor yet I'm not falling. Is this really a dream? Everything feels so real. I can feel my own cloths against my skin.

I look around and realize that Ace isn't here. I have no idea where he is or where to start looking. I see a door. Should I open it? I don't see any other options. I open the door and walk through it to find a snow covered field. The door behind me disappears and it starts to snow. Wait I hear something. It sounds like humming. Where is it coming from? There's nothing around but…

"Ugh." What was that? Something just hit my shoulder. I brush my shoulder to touch something cold. The remains of a snowball. What else could it of been? More importantly where did it come from? "Ace? Ack!" That one hit me on top of my head.

As I look around I notice something odd. The snow isn't actually falling, but rather drifting in place indefinitely. This whole place is just ridiculous.

I still can't find out where the humming or the snowballs are coming from. I look up and find a rather large snowflake floating in the air. There's something on it.

"Hello princess. Looking for me?"

It's Ace. As relieved as I am to find him I can't help but feel annoyed he's goofing around in my mind.

"You dunce. Get down here right now." I call to him.

"Aw, come on. You have to admit this is pretty cool. I've always wondered what it would be like to drift in the air like a fragile snowflake. It's so soothing."

"Ace!"

"Geronimo!" He shouts as he jumps down. He lands in front of me and frowns. "You really aren't any fun are you?"

Ugh the nerve. "Where are we?"

"We are in a unified enhanced dream state. Currently I would say we are in your territory. Heads up!"

"Wha-, Ah!" Another snowball in the face. "My mind is not a playground!"

"Fair enough." Everything fades back to black. "Now before we start some ground rules." He's suddenly so much more serious. "Our minds are now linked so we have equal access to everything in each other's head, feelings and memories included. We may access these things through doorways. However not all doors are meant to be opened. While we have a lot of personal things out in the open, for no reason should we invade the most private of thoughts and secrets. We are here to solve the problem between you and your team and nothing else. That said there is really only one other rule. Nothing and I mean nothing that takes place or is learned here leaves this place. This is meant to be very private. Are we understood?"

"Yes." The confidentiality is definitely appreciated.

"All right then." A huge hallway of doors appears around us. "Let's begin."

* * *

Ace

* * *

We walk through the hallway in silence observing the endless hallway of doors for a while. Either side was lined with doors leading to different parts of our combined subconscious.

"So where are we going exactly?" Weiss asks breaking the silence.

"Beats me. Dez said that we will find what we are looking for when it appears before us."

"Really, a riddle? That's just typical. Your friend is starting to remind me of Blake." She says in disgust.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Because it is a bad thing! I know nothing about the girl and she refuses to talk about herself."

"Would you even care if she did?" I ask.

"Of course I would!"

"I rather doubt that."

"Why you insufferable…" She stops mid insult as we reach an abrupt end to the hallway with a lone door at the end. The door was much different than the rest. The entire thing was made of ice.

"I think we just found the answer to our riddle." We stand in front of it for a while observing it. "Well ladies first."

"Uh why me?"

"It's your door. Wouldn't want to intrude."

"You're in my mind; I think it's a little late to worry about invasion."

"Good point. Now open it."

She turns the knob and opens the door slowly. We walk in to what looks like a large bedroom.

"This is my bedroom back home."

"This is your room? This makes my room look like a closet."

"So what are we supposed to find here?" The bedroom begins to fade leaving nothing around us save one item. An elegant full body mirror.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Why a mirror? Does it mean anything?"

"Now you're asking the important questions. What did Dez say about mirrors again? Reflective objects… Reflect the way you view certain things, more often than not your own self-image."

"So I need to look into the mirror?"

"I guess so."

Weiss steps in front of the mirror to find what it was to reveal.

"What do you see?"

"Myself. There's something off about the reflection though."

I look into the mirror to try to find the anomaly. "You're frowning. Seems normal to me."

"No you dunce. My reflection doesn't change no matter what I do. I didn't even look at it like that."

"Now that you mention it that glare is a bit more heartless than your usual look."

"I don't like it. It's unsettling."

"Well you know what I see?" She shakes her head. "I see the same girl with the same look that drives away anyone that gets too close."

"That's not even close to being true." She dejects.

"Weiss, you can't even stand looking at yourself. Admit it. You hate the person you see every time you look into the mirror."

"I do not!" She yells.

"Yes you do!"

"I do not!"

"Then what is it Weiss? Why else would you not like it?"

"Because it's what I fear I have become!" A lone tear escapes her eyes. "I do hate it. I hate being so cold."

"I think we just found the root of the problem. It's you."

* * *

**A/N: This was a long one but as promised here is the next chapter on time. As you may have seen the perspective changed in the story. From here on out that will probably become more frequent. Writing for other characters is still tricky but I'm going to do my best as always. Also when the perspective changes it will always be marked by two lines with the indicated person between, unless it goes into third person anonymous in which case it will remain blank in between. So tell me how I did with Weiss and all that with a review. You don't even know how happy I was to recieve my first review ever. Truly awesome that's how. So until next time I bid you farewell and a good rest of the week. **


	10. Chapter 9

**Shattering the Mirror Pt 2: The Reflection Changes**

* * *

"Me?" the ivory haired girl asks in disbelief.

"Yes. You"

"I don't understand."

"Oh but you do. You said it yourself. You hate the being the one to push people away. You hate the way you see yourself so why should anyone else hate it any less?"

She stood there contemplating my words very carefully, looking for every ounce of truth she could accept.

"I guess I do kind of make it a point to drive people away." She admits.

"Let me ask you something. If you truly do hate being this cold and lonesome person, then why do you do it in the first place? There has to be a reason why you don't let people get close to you, so what is it?"

"I suppose it's because I don't know who to let in. Being the heiress to a multi-billion lien industry doesn't go unnoticed. I've had many people who claimed to be my friend. But those people were all liars. As far as they saw things, I was nothing more than the rich girl that could have anything they would ever want, and they tried to take advantage of that. They promised friendship and compassion but they never cared about me in the slightest. All they wanted was the perks of a rich girl. When I found out, I cut all ties with those self-serving degenerates and the Weiss everybody sees now was born."

"So you have an immediate distrust for anyone who tries to be friends with you because you don't believe that they will care for you at all either."

She nods slightly to answer. "How can I? I don't even know if I can trust in anybody now."

"Well that definitely explains why you have trust issues." Suddenly I gain an idea. 'Of course! Why didn't I realize this sooner?' I mentally kick myself for my incompetence. "Weiss look in the mirror again."

"I don't want to." She snaps back like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Weiss, please. I know it hurts but we aren't going to get any further unless we do some things that you may not like. So please just look, once more, I'm sure you will find something different."

She sighs but steps in front of the mirror again.

"What do you see?"

"The same thing. Myself, and nothing more. What did you honestly think would change?" She asks annoyed.

"You don't even know what you're looking for even when it's right in front of you. Look harder. Look past what you already see."

She looks again and tries to concentrate on the reflection, cringing at the constant cold stare she was returned with from her image. She's strong but I don't know how much she can actually take. I step up beside her.

"It's okay. We'll do this together."

"Won't you just get in the way?"

"This is _your_ mirror. I don't exist in how you see yourself. I know this is hard but I want you to know I won't make you do this alone. I know that you think if you are going to get through anything you have to do it by yourself, but you're wrong. You don't have to rely on your own strength all the time."

"I am a Schnee, we are required to be strong. We cannot under any circumstance show weakness."

"Asking for help from time to time is not a weakness especially when you know you need it. It takes a strong person to know when they are in need of help. It takes an even stronger person to admit they need help. And stronger still is the person who accepts it when they need it most."

"Even if that's true I still need to be the best I can be."

"You can't be the best if you're dead because you were to prideful to accept a helping hand. And for what it's worth, you coming to me for help definitely proves that you are an incredibly strong person. Now look." I almost command.

She sighs but returns to looking into the mirror. "Wait… I think I see something else."

"Good you're getting there. What is it?"

"It's me, but it's not the me from before. She's still here but behind her is another me." She stops and looks at me. "Do you see her?" I nod. I can see what she sees quite clearly. "Who is she?"

"Someone you forgot a long time ago. She's you before you stopped trusting others."

"How long has she been here, and why couldn't I see her before?"

"Weiss, you've always had that part of you deep inside. The part of you that is capable of love and trust. But that Weiss is scared and hides behind her own insecurities like a shield. Like a wall of ice to keep others away. You couldn't see her because you lost her and didn't know where to find her. But then you remembered what that side of you was like. By acknowledging she existed you brought her back closer to the surface."

The mirror begins to vanish leaving us to the darkness once more.

"Why did it disappear?" Weiss asks.

"Because it is of no use to us right now. We have other things to find. But I'm sure we haven't seen the last of that mirror."

"So where to now?"

"Well we're off to a pretty good start. Now that we have identified the underlining issue we just need to find the rest of the pieces of the problem."

"I hope there isn't much more. I can't stay here for the rest of my life." She scolds.

"Patience Weiss. We're going to get there step by step."

The room is gone but a door appears behind us.

"It seems the answers are starting to come to us."

We open the door and find ourselves in the middle of a forest. Before us is a temple. The temple of the Emerald Forest. But this time there are only three pedestals and they don't have chess pieces. Instead the objects seem quite random. A rose sits on the left side pedestal, in the middle a small black book, and finally on the right is a gold hair comb. Those all seem vaguely familiar.

"Well this is interesting." I say looking at the objects. Weiss walks to each of them and frowns.

"Hmph, not really. All these things are in inadequate condition." She remarks.

"Really? Do explain. What do you make of these objects?"

"What are you blind?" She scoffs. "The rose is nothing more than an immature bud. The book's cover is unreadable and most of the pages are blank. The few that aren't are as cryptic as the cover. And the comb is missing some teeth. They're all useless."

It's true. The objects are indeed in poor states. But that has to mean something. A rose that has yet to bloom, a mysterious book, and a rough and edged comb. I smile as I piece the objects together.

"I wouldn't say that. They're like that for a reason."

"And I assume you know what the reason is?"

"Because they're not useless. They are flawed. Something that you immediately find in everything you see. Immature, mysterious, and jagged. Does that remind you of anything?"

"My teammates." She says with realization.

"Exactly as you described them after we sparred. The mirror showed what you thought of yourself. The relics appear to show what you think of your team. Each item is a thing of beauty yet all you can see them for is their flaws. Because they are not perfect or do not seem desirable you show no interest in them. Ruby is young and immature, Blake is a walking enigma, and Yang is the rough and wild party girl. But is that all you really see?"

"Of course it is! The things they do are enough to test my patience every day. They may be skilled but their still infuriatingly imperfect."

"Well what about you? Do you see yourself as perfect? I certainly don't. You may be just as flawed as the rest of them. You're hate for yourself is a flaw, the coldness you show others is a flaw, even the scar on your face should remind you that you are far from perfection. I think you find the flaws so easily in others because you are constantly reminded of your own."

"Well what do you want from me? To just sit back and act as if nothing is wrong? To just ignore the blatant fact that I'm stuck with the most annoying people I can think of? Well it's not going to happen. Epically when I'm constantly reminded I'm on a team led by a child!"

The scene returns to the void. She needs to know the truth. She won't change if I leave things the way they are going.

"Weiss," I sigh conjuring one of my own doors. "Come with me. There's something I think you should see."

We enter the door and we end up in the forest once more, only this time it's dark. In front of us sits myself and Weiss's red clad leader.

"What's this place?" Weiss asks looking between the figures in front of us.

"One of my memories. This was the night Ruby had her nightmare. She told me some things that you should hear for yourself."

The memory starts to play out as Ruby begins to speak.

_"I just don't want to fail them as a leader. I've never led anyone before and now I have three. I'm scared that I'm going to mess up. Aren't you scared too?"_

Weiss watched as the memory continued being taken aback by the scene playing before her. Her leader was confessing her deepest fears. Fears that no child should ever have.

_"I am, it's a great responsibility I never dreamed of having. And while I worry that I may make a bad decision, I trust the strength of my team and they seem to trust me. Ozpin gave you a tremendous burden Ruby. He wouldn't do that if he didn't think you could do it."_

_"He told me something like that a few days ago, after Weiss told me she wasn't exactly pleased with me being leader._

The memory jumps slightly showing Weiss exactly the things I want her to hear and cutting out the minor details.

_"Why do you care what she thinks about the situation anyhow?"_

_"Because I think I'm scared of failing her the most. After our rough start I wanted to make sure I could prove to her that I belonged here, that I wasn't some incapable child. I don't know why but after my talk with Ozpin she told me she thought that I could be a good leader. I don't want to make her regret that. I'm trying to do my best at being a good leader but I… I don't know if I can do this. I want to so badly but it's hard and it scares me. I don't want to fail and I don't want to lose them. I don't want to lose Weiss."_

Weiss's expression softens at her leader's confession. "Ruby…"

_"Why is it so important to you to please someone who from day one only saw you as a hazard?"_

_"We're friends now, I think, and I'm her teammate. I know that she can be cold sometimes, ok a lot of the time but deep down I know she has a heart. I know she does, and I think she just has a hard time showing her emotions around others. But I think she opened up enough to be my friend. I really admire her I guess. She's smart and talented, and I'm really glad she let me be her friend in the end. But I don't want her to shut me out again. I want to be a good friend and leader for her. I just don't know if I can."_

_"You really care for her that much huh?"_

_"Mhmm."_

The memory ends and fades away. Weiss just stares at the spot where Ruby had been sitting.

"You're right you know. Ruby is a child, but she knows what is truly important when it comes down to it. She made me believe that you were someone worthy of all the effort she puts into being a good leader. Despite everything you have ever done to push her away, she continued to try because she saw the very best in you. She didn't care that you were cold, or that you constantly insult her. She didn't care about your wealth or who you were on the outside. She cared about the person she saw through all of that. To her you're not Weiss Schnee. You're just Weiss, her friend and teammate. She accepts you for who you are, flaws and all."

"I never knew she cared so much. I've been nothing but cruel to her and she still finds it in her to forgive and forget."

"Hard to believe I know. And yet the proof was shown right in front of your eyes. So can you accept her for who she is as she accepts you?"

"I don't know if I can."

"Why not?"

"Ruby is so much kinder than I am. All I have ever known is anger and loneliness."

Suddenly in a flash of white, the scene changes to a large stage. In the middle stood Weiss.

"Okay now I have to ask. Where are we now?"

Weiss stares at herself. "I remember this. This is one of my memories."

Music starts to play around us. It's slow and beautiful but at the same time disturbingly depressing. The Weiss on stage begins to sing.

_Mirror, tell me something,_

_Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

_Mirror, tell me something,_

_Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

_Fear of what's inside of me,_

_Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?_

_Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?_

_Save me from the things I see!_

_I can keep it from the world,_

_Why won't you let me hide from me?_

_Mirror, mirror, tell me something,_

_Who's the loneliest of all?_

_I'm the loneliest of all._

The song ended and the memory faded away like mine did.

"Weiss… That was beautiful. You never said you could sing."

"It wasn't something I was particularly proud about. That song is a constant reminder of how truly alone I felt. How I still feel. I don't even know if I can accept anyone anymore. Ruby was right when she said had a heart. But what good is it when it's made of ice and stone?"

"We're really not that different you and I. We're just a couple of lonely souls."

"What would you know of being alone!?" She snaps. "You don't even know what it's like to be all alone with parents who don't have time for you because of work. To only have a sister to talk to. You have no clue how that feels!"

I feel myself tremble. Not from fear or from the harshness of her words, but out of anger.

"How… How can you be so conceited!?" I feel myself slipping out of control, overtaken by my rare displays of rage. As she was about to find out, she had just struck a very painful nerve.

"Are you so blind to those around you that you think that you're the only one who is capable of suffering!? Well it's time for you to wake up _princess_ because you're not the only one who has known loneliness. I've suffered too!"

Flames erupt from the ground around us, a true sign of the anger behind my words. Weiss jumps back from my sudden outburst.

"Wh-What?" She asks with fear evident in her voice.

"What? Is that so hard for you to believe? That someone like me has been down the same road you tread? I _know_ what it's like having parents that had to put work above their own child. To only be truly near them during the few holidays we were allowed from working. To not have any friends to talk to, to laugh and cry with. I didn't even have a sibling to turn to. DON'T YOU EVER TELL ME I DON'T KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE ALONE!"

The fire flares in response to my words. Tears begin to fall from my eyes through the bottom of my helmet. '_Dust…'_ A light rain begins to fall extinguishing the remnants of my anger.

"But… What about Matthew? I thought you two were best friends." She asks finding her voice.

"I… I didn't always have Matt around. We met before we started Signal. Until then, no one wanted anything to do with me. I tried so hard to find some acceptance. I never found it. I was rejected by everyone I tried to open up to." I tense clutching my hand to my heart. "It hurt. It hurt so much. I eventually gave up. I stopped trying and distanced myself from people. I didn't want to hurt anymore. I became as cold as the steel I forged."

There was a pause. That ever persistent silence that always found itself around me. Until Weiss spoke up.

"Why? Why would they treat you like that? I thought you helped people. Why would they turn you away?"

"Why? I always found myself asking that question, over and over again, until the answer was screamed in my face. Bad blood. Weiss you have to understand me and my family are all good people. It's just… My family history is complicated, let's just leave it at that"

"If your family are all good people, which I believe, how is it that you can have bad blood?"

"…"

"Okay. Forget I asked." She says with the most understanding voice I've heard from her yet.

"You know, I have to admit, I'm kinda jealous of you Weiss. Not because your rich or anything like that, but because you have a sister. I would have given anything of value to myself to have grown up with a brother or sister. I love my family and they love me, but when it boils down to it, what I wanted most was a friend. You were blessed with a sister. Don't ever take that for granted."

She smiled, whether it was forced or genuine I don't know. "Alright. So what lead you to Matthew?"

"Fate, Chance, Destiny, Accident. Call it whatever you want. I don't particularly know myself, but I couldn't care less at this point. I'm thankful every single day of my life that for that one gift."

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to hear your story."

I take a moment to collect my thoughts.

"I was walking home from school one day, alone as usual. I didn't know a few of the older students who attended my school were tailing me. There were three of them. They soon caught up to me and pulled me into a small alley way."

"What did they do?" Weiss asked softly.

"What everyone else did. Degrade me, mock me… Hurt me. For no reason other than the fact that I dared to exsist. An existence that they were prepared to end. Then Matt showed up. He had seen what was going on from the other side of the street. You know what he did?" She shakes her head. "He ran straight up to the leader and decked him into the dumpster."

Weiss grinned trying to suppress a giggle.

"While the leader's lackeys were busy fishing him out of the trash, Matt had placed himself between me and my attackers. I had no idea why a stranger was defending me from such vile people. When the group had finished retrieving their leader, they told Matt to step aside or, well you can guess what they had in mind. But Matt refused and held his ground. The alley way became a battlefield. When it was all over they left battered and deterred. We didn't fare much better. We were injured but alive."

"So that's when you two became friends?"

I look to the floor and frown.

"No. I turned him away. It was my turn to reject someone for once. I told him he was stupid for risking his wellbeing for me, that he should have left me to my fate, so I could just be forgotten. I didn't want to open up to someone just to be hurt again when he found out what everyone else knew. I ran away to my home so I could just forget about the one person who ever showed me any kindness, thinking I would never see him again."

"So you turned down the one person that offered you their friendship? How does that even make sense!? You'd have to be the biggest dolt in all of Remnant to do something like that."

"Oh really? I seem to recall a certain young leader of yours that did the same thing for you and offer her friendship, and as I remember her telling me, you repeatedly refused. Now, what was that about being a huge dolt?"

"I… Um…" I chuckle at her lack of coherent sentences. "Oh be quite you dolt!" She scowls but quickly returns to her small grin. "So what made you change your mind?"

"Well as luck would have it, the universe decided it had other ideas than leaving us apart for very long. I was practicing with my sword in the forest close to my home one weekend, when I heard a Nevermore fly overhead. I chased after it to see what it was up to. I followed the direction it was flying in when I heard people shouting. I found Matt pinned to a tree by the shirt by one of the Nevermore's feathers. He told the young girl accompanying him to run. It was his sister. She tried to flee but the Nevermore blew her to the ground with a gust of wind from its wings. The Nevermore grabbed her in one of its talons and tried to fly away. I jumped into action and landed on its back and drove my sword through the back of its head. It never had a chance to figure out what was going on until it was too late. Matt's sister landed in a bush without any further injuries, and the beast was dead."

"Why would you help them? You already rejected others so why bother?"

"Because I became distant, never heartless. It was still in my nature to help others; I just wouldn't let them get into my life. My work done I tried to leave but Matt stopped me. He put me in a hold and activated his semblance to keep me from leaving. He refused to let me go until I told him why I left him that day in the alley. Matt's stubborn so ignoring him did me no good. So I finally told him the truth. All of it. The sooner he learned the sooner he could leave me like all the others. But he didn't leave. He didn't care. He learned my reasons and told me it didn't matter. Matt told me he stood up for me because I was a person just the same as he was and that I deserved better, and especially now after what I had done for him and his sister, he knew that I was a good person. One who just needed a fair chance. He made me a promise that day. No matter what, he would always stick by my side and we would always be friends. That's when I knew I didn't have to distance myself from him. He cared and wasn't going to hurt me for being who I am. Weiss, he refused to give up on me when I had given up on myself a long time ago. I finally found a true friend in Matt that day. So do you want to keep making the same mistake I made over and over? Are you going to continue questioning their friendship, or are you going to finally let them into your heart? To accept them as they are, as they accept you?"

The three objects rematerialized in front of us, as if they knew they were needed once more. Weiss walks up to the dormant rose.

"Ruby is immature and unready, but that means she is still growing and one day, with work, she will bloom into something special."

She moves over to the black vexing book. "Blake is mysterious and hides her information of her past, but as you clearly demonstrated, we all have some things we would rather not talk about. That information is private and she will reveal it when the time is right. And while her words are cryptic and I don't understand her, given time it will all become clear."

She steps up to the comb. "Yang is rough and wild, but on the inside she has a big heart and she cares for us, for me."

The mirror returns as expected but the symbols of her team do not leave.

"So. Tell me now… What do you see?"

She faces the mirror but does not flinch at the reflection.

I don't do well with my emotions or other people, and they can all be insufferable, brutish and secretive, and they are far from perfect." If she could see the top half of my face she would see me raise an eyebrow. "But I'm not either and I suppose they have their moments and I don't think I could imagine any better people to be associated with." We exchange smiles. "And thanks to you I realize that I don't have to hide behind my fears. I don't have to be alone anymore."

"That a girl."

The objects begin to glow filling the space with their combined glow of color and radiating with a certain warmth. The mirror began to crack shattering and splintering around us blinding us with a flash of light. When we could see again the objects were gone leaving the broken mirror. Before us was the Weiss from the mirror, but not the cold one. The scared Weiss that had been hiding behind her. But she wasn't scared anymore. She was smiling. She stood before us surrounded by her teammates. She was finally free.

* * *

As I awoke I see Weiss also withdrawing from her sleep. When she looked over to me she smiled. And it wasn't a forced or faked smile either. For once she was truly happy. Dez faked a cough to grab our attention.

"So how did it go? You were in there for quite some time."

"I don't know. Weiss?"

She rolled her eyes. "It was enlightening and I'm glad that I decided to take you up on your offer Ace. So to the both of you, thank you."

"Hey, what are friends for?" I reply.

"Who ever said we were friends?" She says.

"Aw come on. I thought we had a very touching moment in their together." I feign my hurt.

"Dunce."

"Princess."

"Dolt."

"So that's it? We're just going to automatically go back to that." I joke, which she responds with a smirk. "Glad to see some things never change. I don't think I could see you being unbearably nice all the time." I laugh. "Guess you really can't change overnight."

"Give it time. This is all going to be new for me for a while, but I'll get the hang of it."

"Well even if you do change completely, you will always be the Ice Queen to us."

We look at the clock. It's 3:30 now. Weiss gets up leave and I walk her to the door.

"Thank you, again. You should really think about changing your profession to a psychiatrist."

"Nah, I wouldn't get to do that little number on people. Plus I'd have to start charging you. Nope I'm happy doing it my own way."

"Still I think you deserve something for what you've done for me."

"Well, there might be one thing I could accept."

"Name it."

"I stretch my arms out wide."

"How about... A hug?"

"A hug? That's it? That's all you want?"

"Yep. Just a hug."

She rolls her eyes but moves into my embrace. She tenses from the contact but relaxes. She's not use to this form of contact I suppose.

"Ace? Are you ever going to tell me what _you're_ hiding?"

"One day I will. I'll tell everyone then. I promise you'll be the first to know. Goodnight Weiss."

"It's morning you dunce."

"Whatever."

"For what it's worth, I think you would have made an excellent brother."

"Thank you. And remember, just between the two of us."

She departs for her room and I return to mine. Dez is in his bed relaxing now that his space is unoccupied.

"So you didn't eavesdrop on us while we were in there did you?"

"Nope. All I had to do was start and maintain the process. Everything was kept just between you and Weiss. So how did it all turn out?"

"She's been through a lot, but I think she's going to be just fine now."

"Well I'm going to get some rest." Dez says laying his head on his pillows.

"Sorry to keep you awake so long." I apologize.

"Don't worry about it. Wasn't that tired anyway. Besides your goals are my goals." He says smiling.

"Thank you."

I lay down to rest more myself, as the sound of singing rings through my mind.

* * *

**A/N: ... Wow. That was long. I had so much fun writing the stuff for the Weiss arc of the story. Fun fact the idea to dive into Weiss's mind came from a really awesome fanfiction. It's called 'Yet Another Weiss Christmas Story' by G.N. Over-Kite. This guys stuff is awesome so check that out. **

**Anyways, Now that this is out of the way, I'm going to be working on the special on friday so no update until then. So how do you think I did? tell me what you think with a review or just message me if you like. I like talking to people so I won't bite. Until next time.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Halloween Spooktackular: The Beast of Midnight**

* * *

October is drawing to a close. We have no more than a week before it would be the thirty- first, and we all know what that means. Halloween. A night of monsters and candy. Good times, until Matt dropped into my life.

You don't celebrate much when you don't have friends to do so with, but with Matt, he makes it a point. I know Halloween is the time for scaring the pants off your friends and neighbors but Matt tends to go overboard with the concept.

Now there are very few things that scare me, but every chance he gets he finds his own creative ways to make my heart stop. It's the one thing I dread about this time of year. What's even worse is that he always puts me on edge until he finally strikes. You don't know when, where, or how he's going to do it, you just know that it's coming.

It's a relief when it's over but annoying that he pulls this stuff every year. Yesterday his plan was simple. He hid himself in a pile of fall leaves and waited for me to pass by so he could grab my ankles. I almost kicked him in the head for that number. I had no idea how he even managed to bury himself that well. Come to find out that Nora helped conceal him. He told her it was some a game, though she really didn't need much convincing.

I wake up first this morning and head to the showers to get ready for the day. The warm water showering over me is always a great way to wake up and start the day feeling clean and rejuvenated. I exit the shower to finish getting ready. As I near finish brushing my teeth, a loud roar emanates from behind, startling me and sending me sprawling onto the floor. My tooth brush ended somewhere across the side of the room.

"What in the world?" I say to no one as I search for the source of my distress. I find a scroll placed on the wall with a red light flashing. "Matthew." I deduce as if I hadn't known any better.

As if on cue Matthew walks in with a wide mischievous smile as he realized I had fallen for his trap. He picks up his scroll that he had planted sometime before I woke up. He opens it and taps around until he finds what he's looking for. A video recording.

_'__Should have figured he was recording this.'_

Sure enough he had captured a most embarrassing scene of me falling to the ground after that loud noise sounded.

"That was way too easy." Matt laughs as he watches his recording.

"What's with you and ruining my mornings and what was that noise?" I ask annoyed.

He pulls up different file and plays an audio recording of the same noise that had played a while ago.

"Just a really big Ursa roar I recorded in the forest." He replies happily.

We walk out of the shower room and into the hallway.

"You know one day someone is going to teach you a lesson about what it's like to be scared senseless, and I hope I'm there to see the look on your face when they do."

"Never going to happen Ace. I am the master of terror." He beams proudly.

Suddenly we hear a scream come from team RWBY's dorm. The leader herself came bursting through the door as fast as she could, stopping in front of us as we round the corner.

"That was not funny Yang!" Ruby screamed back at her door.

Yang poked her head through the door way smiling. She had red all over her face. It looked like blood.

"Come on sis it's just ketchup." She giggles to her sister.

"You scared the dust out of me!"

Weiss walked out of the room to scold Yang.

"That was so childish Yang, and Ruby I know she scared you but could _you_ not scare _us_ when we're trying to sleep?" She asks frowning upset that she was awoken by Ruby's screaming.

"You're just jealous that I'm the Queen of Halloween."

"If she's the Queen then I'm definitely the King." Matt proclaims giving Yang a high five.

"What's going on here?" I ask as Ruby glares at her older sibling. Blake steps out into the hallway prepared with the answer.

"Yang is scaring Ruby again." She says flatly.

"She does this all the time!" Ruby exclaims.

Team JNPR joins the mix as they step out to see what's going on.

"What's with all the yelling?" Jaune asks confused to the congregation of people outside their door.

"Yang and Matt are up to their Halloween hijinks again." Zweii answers, walking up with Dez.

"Ooh, I love Halloween!" Nora shouts, jumping up and down. "We should do something together this year."

"We're all a little too old for trick-or-treating." I point out to the second most energetic hammer wielder I know.

Her smile falters for a moment but quickly reappears.

"What about a party this weekend? Just between the twelve of us. We could have games and food and spooky music and treats!"

"Yay! Treats!" Ruby chimes in.

"That does sound like fun." Pyrrha points out in agreement. Jaune and Ren nod with equal interest.

"Hmm, I suppose that could be… Fun." Weiss adds. I smile. At least she's trying.

"Well that settles it." Yang yells. "We'll have the most killer party ever!"

"Alright then, we're going to need supplies." I state. "Weiss, Matt, Nora, and Dez; you four are on decoration detail. Blake, Yang, Jaune, and Pyrrha; you guys are in charge of food and beverages. Ren and Zweii; you two think of a place to hold the festivities. Me and Ruby will go talk to Ozpin about the party. Sound good?" Everyone nods accepting their roles. "Good. Now before anyone does anything we will go get this cleared. Meanwhile, just be thinking about what we will want and need in advance. Come on Ruby."

* * *

We walk through the halls searching for Ozpin to talk about the details of our party, talking about various topics. Mostly weapons as it was one of Ruby's favorite things to talk about. Somehow the conversation steered to how Matt and Yang scared us every year.

"She's just so infuriating sometimes!" Ruby groaned, still unhappy with the trick Yang pulled on her this morning.

"I know what you mean. Matt is just as annoying."

A third voice joins in from in front of us. "Hello Mister Wolfblade, Miss Rose." It was professor Ozpin himself wearing his usual polite expression. "What's this I hear about your teammates?"

"Oh it's nothing sir. Just our friends celebrating Halloween a little too much." I reply.

He takes a sip from his mug. "I see. To be young and free again." he says looking up, smiling in nostalgia. "I remember when I celebrated Halloween when I was your age."

"Which reminds me why we're here. You see we wanted to ask you if we could have a small party this weekend to celebrate between Team: RWBY, JNPR, and AZRE. Nothing huge or out of hand."

"Yeah and we'll be super responsible and clean up after." Ruby adds.

"Hmm, I don't see why not. Most of the students are heading home to do similar things anyway. Have at it."

"Yay!" Ruby cheers, quickly catching her own sudden outburst. "I mean thank you professor Ozpin." She says more calmly.

"Yes thank you Headmaster." I add.

"Of course. It's important to celebrate these pleasant times with friends. Enjoy your party." He begins to walk off.

"Oh professor Ozpin." I call making him stop. "There's something else I would like to talk to you about."

He cocks his eyebrow and takes another drink from his mug. "Is that so? What would you like to talk about?" He asks with interest.

"Just a few things about one of me and Ruby's projects. Mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"Not at all." He grinned.

* * *

We walk back to the teams to tell them the good news about the party. Ruby already in process of sending the combined members to meet in the hall was humming the whole way back. We find them all once again gathered together talking amongst themselves, except for Ren and Weiss who were mostly just listening.

"All right troops, operation Halloween Bash has been given the green light." I announce.

Everyone cheers, again minus Ren and Weiss, who remained reserved.

"So did you figure out what supplies we're going to get?" I ask as they come to a quite.

Weiss steps forth with the answer. "Well after much debate and consideration, we settled on a manageable list of decor and food."

"Yeah as in Weiss took over full control in the planning." Yang quips.

"Hey just because you're no good at it, doesn't mean that individuals such as myself can't enjoy planning events. Besides, I didn't say no to all of your ideas." Weiss defends.

"Okay but you did turn down most of it."

"Well we do kind of have to set a budget somewhere Yang." Jaune cuts in. "Weiss is really doing us a favor in helping pay for a good majority of the stuff."

Yang thinks on this for a moment before smiling. "Yeah okay. Besides, only the princess would want to do the boring stuff anyways."

Weiss just shoots a glare at the blondes jab. Blake quickly jumps in to intervene, covering the brawler's mouth.

"What Yang is _trying_ to say is that she is very grateful for what Weiss is doing for us, aren't you Yang?" She says more commanding than asking. It must be hard being the voice of neutral reason.

Yang nods unable to speak through Blake's hand. Weiss just rolls her eyes.

"Anyway here's the list we came up with." Weiss says handing the list to Ruby.

"Wow, this all sounds great! Thank you Weiss." Ruby chirps praising her partner.

"You're welcome Ruby." Weiss smiles at Ruby's appreciation.

"So where are we going to set up the party?" I ask adding on to my ever expanding list of questions.

"Well Ren and I talked about it and we think we figured out a suitable spot." Zweii states confidently.

"We couldn't fit all of us and the provisions comfortably in one of our rooms, and we didn't want to risk making a mess in one of the other areas such as the library, so we decided we would just use the roof. There's of room up there and since it is a Halloween party, we figured the night sky would give a good atmosphere." Ren concludes.

"Sounds perfect. Now we just need to get all the things. So if everyone is ready the fore mentioned teams will need to travel to the city. Since we already have settled on a location, Zweii, go help with food, and Ren can go help with the decorations."

"What about you and Ruby?" Matt asks.

"I'd love to but I think I'll stay here and scavenge for chairs, tables, and maybe some other things we could use." I answer.

"Yeah and I'll help Ace. Everyone else will be with each other so I'll help him out and keep him company." Ruby says briskly.

"Aww that's so _sweet_ of you Ruby." Yang coos, emphasizing the 'sweet'. Everyone groans at the implied pun.

"The airship to Vale will be leaving in an hour." Dez informs checking his scroll. "We should get moving."

With that we all nod and set off to the business at hand.

* * *

After a long week of waiting, the day of the party had finally arrived. Everything had been set up the day previous, excluding the food, which was being kept in the cafeteria for safe keeping. Despite that the scene was very well set.

A large blood red canopy was set up over the roof top. Orange and black streamers were strung underneath around the perimeter and of the covering as well as intersecting in the middle. Cobwebs were hung where ever they could, to give an ancient and decrepit vibe.

The tables were set underneath along the boundaries of the roof, almost like barriers. They were covered in holiday table setting, with various seasonal icons like bats and skeletons. The tables were decorated with carved pumpkins of various sizes and designs, illuminated by the candles set inside to give them their fiery glow. A sizable black cauldron was sat at a tables end to be used as a punch bowl.

On the middle table was a mechanical skull replica outfitted to play spine tingling themes. Directly underneath the table the skull sat was a fog machine Ace and Ruby had procured from the fine arts department of the school. What business a class like that had doing at a school for monster slayers, no one would understand.

All in all it was clear Weiss knew exactly what she was doing when she took charge of planning. As the sun began to set the three teams began to bring out the food and the rest of the supplies. Various cookies and sweets were displayed amongst the jack-o-lanterns. Everyone was hesitant to bring so many sugary confections in fear of being subjected to one of Ruby or Nora's sugar rushes, but they protested that it wouldn't be a party without some sweets, so eventually everyone relented. It was a party after all.

Pyrrha and Weiss filled the cauldron with fruit punch while Yang brought out a cooler of bottled cider as an alternative drink. Zweii and Dez moved chairs into position while Ace prepped the fog creator, and Jaune the music. Nora and Ren brought out what looked like a wooden wash tub filled with water as one of the games, bobbing for apples. Matt and Blake brought out chips and sandwiches so that there would be more filling foods present. As the sun finally sank under beyond the horizon, the final preparations were complete and the party would soon commence.

The three teams each participate in their own ways, enjoying the fruits of their labor underneath the orange hallowed light of the broken moon. Ace, Jaune, and Ruby were conversing about how they were handling classes and leading their teams over a few sandwiches. Ruby was doing well to restrain herself from demolishing their stock of sweets, but snuck a few cookies every now and then.

Weiss and Zweii were talking about their homes in Atlas while the young heiress snacked on an apple she won from the bobbing game. She was quite adamant in not playing seeing as she never engaged in such activities back at home, but when Yang challenged her abilities all bets were off. No one challenged a Schnee. She struggled at first but eventually she managed to retrieve one of the fruits from the water, claiming her victory.

Yang, Nora, Matt, Pyrrha, and Dez were holding a competition to see who could perform the best Halloween dance. Nora's wasn't so much creepy as it was random and goofy, but that did nothing to damper her enthusiasm. Blake was enjoying a bottle of cider while talking with Ren about one of her many books. Everyone was having a great time just being together with their friends.

Jaune reached for another sandwich only to find that the plate was empty.

"Hey Ace, we're out of sandwiches." The blond knight called back.

"Don't worry about it. I think there's more back in the cafeteria. I'll just go grab them." The Grimm clad leader offered, walking to the door.

"We're getting low on chips too. I'll go grab some." The youngest leader adds, quickly trailing him.

Several minutes passed and neither of the duo had returned. The others began to wonder what was taking them so long.

"I wonder what's taking them so long." Jaune mutters lowly to himself but still noticed by Mattew.

"I'm sure they're just making sure we have enough food for the rest of the party." The male hammer wielder said nonchalantly.

"Still, it shouldn't take that long should it?" Jaune says reiterating his growing concern.

"How long have they been gone anyway? I would check my scroll but I can't find the blasted thing." Matthew said trying to check his person for the device.

"Almost fifteen minutes now." Zweii says looking at his own scroll.

The device began to beep alerting the paladin. He looked down and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Uh guys, either my scroll is busted or Ace is in serious trouble." The paladin says nervously.

"What makes you say that?" Dez asks confused to his teammate's discovery.

He flips the scroll around for the others to see, their faces filling with shock.

"Because his aura just crashed into the critical range."

The remaining members of Team: RWBY suddenly got a similar alert and checked their scrolls to find Ruby's aura had also dropped by half.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" a voice screamed from the school.

"That sounds like Ruby!" Yang gasped, beginning to look frantic.

"Party's over guys, our friends are in trouble." Jaune said drawing his sword and shield.

The Huntsmen and Huntresses in training quickly sprinted through the hallway in search of the missing leaders. They stopped when they heard another scream from Ruby sound from down the hall.

"HELP!" The red and black themed girl screamed running insanely fast, fear instilled in her silver eyes.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted running to her younger sister.

"Yang! Omydustohmydustitwasbigandscaryandwetriedfightingitbutnothingworkedan-" Ruby hastily spat out at Mach speed.

"Whoa, whoa hold on there kiddo. Breath." Yang said pulling in the hooded girl for a hug. "What happened?"

"We- we were getting the- the food, and- and we heard this noise and we went to look for it and then we saw IT."

"What? What did you see?" Blake asked the frantic girl.

"A Grimm. In the school. It was huge! We tried to kill it but nothing we did caused any damage."

"A Grimm? Here? How is that even possible?" Jaune asked.

"So where's Ace?" Matthew asks, afraid of the answer he would receive.

"It- It got him. It got him!" She cried trying to avoid eye contact. "He told me to run. I used my semblance to get away."

"WHAT!?" You just left our friend and leader alone? What's wrong with you!?" Matthew yelled.

"MATT! Clam down. It's not her fault." Zweii scolds trying to keep his leaders best friend from losing it.

"I know! Just… What in Remnant is going on!?" Matthew screams punching the wall.

"RRROOOOOAARRRRR!"

A horrendous growl echoed through the school sending shivers down everyone's spines.

"Oh Dust! It's coming!" Ruby cried.

"That doesn't sound like any Grimm I've heard before." Pyrrha states trying to mentally place the roar.

Large footsteps could be heard coming towards the group as the braced themselves for what was coming. The students drew their weapons and assumed their battle stance. All except Matthew, Zweii, and Nora; who had left their weapons in their lockers, so the massive things would not get in the way of the party. Weapon or no weapon, Matthew and Zweii still had their semblances so they could still fight using those, and Nora was just crazy enough to fight without use of either one.

The creature rounded a corner on the other side of the hallway revealing its monstrous form, shocking the small group. It was indeed as Ruby described it. Big and scary. Its body was that of a large Ursa covered in thick bone armor that left almost no weak spots. The legs and arms were thick and almost human like, but ended with huge razor sharp claws. The head was that of a Beowolf and revealed large jagged teeth. Its back was covered in the natural spikes of an Ursa leaving almost as little openings as the front of its torso. The beast ended with a long tail resembling a Death Stalkers, equipped with a sizable stinger. It was as if Ace's armor had a brother that had come to life to seek vengeance from beyond the grave. But this creature was alive. A real living, breathing, Grimm Chimera.

"What is that thing!?" Jaune yelled truly scared.

"I don't know but I don't particularly want it to get any closer to find out." Yang replied readying her gauntlets.

"Dust this beast!" Matthew yelled as everyone with ranged attacks opened fire.

Round after round was shot at the beast without rest. When the smoke cleared the Chimera remained standing completely unfazed by the onslaught of ammo.

"We didn't even put a scratch on it! How is this thing so strong?" Weiss said beginning to grow fearful at the creature before them.

"We need to pierce through its armor to have any chance of harming it." Pyrrha decided readying her spear.

"I'll handle this!" Weiss proclaimed already making a dash for the monster.

"Weiss! No!" Ruby cried out but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Weiss continued with her attack without hesitation prepared to run the beast through with her rapier.

The Grimm dodged away from the attack at the last moment and Weiss struck the wall behind it. More specifically the electrical system for the building. The lights flickered and died as their source of energy had been cut. The school became dark, and everyone looked at Weiss who could only frown at the misfortune.

"What? I didn't know! How could I have known!?" She asked annoyed by the stares she was receiving.

"Well this fight just got a whole lot more difficult. Wait. Where's Ruby?" Yang asked looking for her sister.

The beast roared from behind them making everyone turn. What they saw made them completely terrified. Being held in the monsters mouth was Ruby, unconscious and bleeding. Her body lay limp as she was held by her torso.

"RUBY!" Yang screamed. The monster retreated into the shadows with its prize.

"Everybody fall back!" Zweii instructed.

"No! Not without Ruby! We have to help her!" Yang cried in fear of her sister and her own life.

"You can't help her if it gets you too, now let's move!" Zweii ordered.

"Yang we'll find her let's go." Blake said trying to convince the blonde brawler.

Yang nodded and they all ran through the school to make some distance between them and their new foe.

* * *

The group hid in Team RWBY's dorm room to think of their next move. Many emotions filled the room like a thick fog. Anger, sadness, guilt, but most of all fear.

"How are we going to beat this thing? There has to be a way." Matthew asked furiously.

"There is and we'll find it. For Ace and Ruby's sake we have to." Dezaryl reasoned.

"This is just like initiation when we fought that giant Death Stalker and Nevermore. Our ammo did nothing but irritate them and individual attacks were just as effective." Blake observes assessing the situation.

"You guys fought a Deathstalker and Nevermore? Man we got off easy with a huge pack of Beowolves and Ursi." Zweii says remembering their stand in the forest.

"Yeah, we need to attack strategically and together to bring this thing down just like we did before." Yang proclaims getting the gist of their next attack.

"But Zweii, Nora, and Matt still don't have their weapons. It would be much easier if they were equipped as well." Ren says.

"Well thanks to Weiss the signal between our scrolls has been severed from our lockers and each other's scrolls. We can't just deploy them here or call for help." Yang cut in angrily.

"Look I said I was sorry, what more do you want from me?" The fencer scowls.

"I want my Sister!" The blonde shouts.

"ENOUGH!" Zweii yells over the bickering members. "Fighting each other isn't going to help us save Ruby or Ace."

The room went quite. Ashamed and depressed expressions were laced on everyone's faces.

"Zweii's right. If we're going to have any chance of saving them we need to work together." Weiss says looking into Yang's lilac eyes. Yang smiles.

"You're right. It's not anyone's fault. I'm just worried you know?" Yang says her eyes expression becoming down cast.

"We're all worried. But we're going to go out there and do our jobs. We're Hunters in training and that Grimm is just another hunt for us to kill. Now let's show this thing whose boss!" Dez says reading his bow into a sword.

The warriors leave the room to track the beast. Before long sounds of the creature's return sound through the hall.

"When you see it, run at it and give it all you've got." Jaune whispers.

The Chimera emerges from the pitch black hallway ready for the next fight.

"NOW!" Zweii yells as those who could fight up close charged forward. The beast approached with equal speed.

Yang went in for a melee to the face, but she was evaded and sideswiped by the creature into the wall beside her. Quickly recovering, the blonde ran in to punch the creature in the chest hoping to crack the armor. The beast took several hits before swiping at her, but she flipped backwards to avoid the deadly claws while Weiss attacked from the left side driving her sword through its side. The beast growled at the stinging in its side but was unable to attack the cause of its discomfort as Matthew used his semblance and began pummeling it on the right side with his metallic fists. The beast leapt backwards to get away from the assault but Blake quickly closed in on it slashing at it with Gambol Shroud. The beast swung at her but she used her shadow semblance to absorb and evade the strike while she danced around the monster striking it from every side.

Blake retreated as Yang and Matthew began sending a flurry of punches the beast's way. The combined force of the two powerhouses pushed back the creature, but only for a little. It reared back and charged them knocking them to the sides of the hall. Jaune, Dezaryl, and Pyrrha became the next line of defense and charged forward. Jaune and Pyrrha used their shields to deflect the beast blows while Dezaryl swung for its neck. The beast ducked out of the way and swiped Jaune and Dezaryl backwards with a strong attack. Pyrrha swings Miló in its xiphos form landing a hit on the creatures shoulder plating. It uses its whip like tail to literally sweep the Spartan off her feet. She lands on the ground with a loud thud before the beast uses its tail to grapple her and throw her into the wall leaving her unconscious.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yells as his fire headed partner is dragged away by The Grimm becoming its latest victim.

Ren places his arm on Jaune's shoulder as the rest of the team retreats back to the room.

"This is looking bad guys. We hit that thing hard and it just shook it off. And now it's got Pyrrha." Zweii says once again trying to rally the troops.

"Nothing is invincible. What we need is a new plan." Ren says flatly.

"We need to set up a trap, and here's how it's going to work." Zweii says huddling the group in for the plan.

* * *

The group takes their positions in the hall waiting for the creature to reappear. Nora was away from the group using herself as bait. Zweii had insisted on someone with a weapon but she was quite adamant in being the one to lure the monster.

She found it stalking down one of the halls and prepared to draw its attention.

"Hey fluffy!" She shouted earning the beast's attention. "Trick-or-Treat!" She yelled smiling as she hurled one of the Jack-o-lanterns from the party into the beasts face, staining it with orange.

The beast roared angrily and charged at her as she sped down the hall back to her friends. She runs past Weiss with the beast in tow, leading it into their trap. Weiss summoned a glyph to block its path while Dezaryl emerged from one of the room's behind the beast firing ice tipped arrows to freeze the beast in place. Zweii emerged from the opposite door and focused his semblance to form a huge orb of fire in front of his hands and sent it hurdling towards the trapped creature. In a large flash, the fire met its mark and exploded on contact.

"We got it!" Yang cheered as she saw the flames surrounding the creature burn mercilessly. The victory was brief as they heard the monster howl within the inferno. It leapt from the flames as if it were a beast straight out of the deepest pits of Hell as the small embers that clung to its fur dissipated.

"Oh no you don't!" Zweii yelled readying his semblance for another attack. He spewed a large flamethrower from his mouth bent on burning the beast where it stood. The beast surprised them all when the beast countered with a flame of its very own.

A powerful breath of flame emerged from the beast and clashed with Zweii's, neither side letting up.

"This thing can breathe fire!? What are we dealing with here!?" Yang yelled as she saw the knight and the beast fight fire with fire.

Zweii had already used a lot of his aura on that fire orb and was quickly burning the rest trying to push the beast's fire back. Soon he was unable to maintain his fire. The beast's fire overpowered his own and sent him flying backwards. His aura was depleted and he too was claimed by the beast.

"Retreat to the library! We can set up a barricade." Jaune yelled to the dwindling number of friends.

Once inside the safety of the library, Nora and Dezaryl pushed a bookcase in front of the doors blocking the Grimm's entrance.

"Now what do we do?" Yang asks, angry at the loss of another comrade.

"I don't know but whatever it is we need to do it fast." Jaune says unable to think of the next possible move.

Blake walks over to the section of the library dedicated to information on Grimm. Maybe one of the books would have an answer. The ebony haired girl picks out all of the references and starts reviewing them.

"I say we go to Ozpin's office. If anyone can beat this thing it's him and the other professors." Weiss says offering her option.

"There's no guarantee that we would make it. We're already down a third of our group and we haven't done anything that resembles hurting that fiend." Dezaryl points out.

"Well what choice do we have!? We can't just stay in here. Even if that thing can't get in here, we don't have food or water to survive on." Weiss yells, dreading the situation more and more.

Blake steps up behind Jaune and Weiss unnoticed.

"Hey, I…" She starts.

"Ahhh!" Jaune and Weiss shriek in surprise as Jaune jumps into Weiss's arms, both clenching their eyes shut.

"Relax it's just me!" Blake says trying to calm them down.

"Blake! Don't sneak up on us like that!" Jaune yells.

"Get off of me you dunce!" Weiss yells at the blonde dropping him onto the floor.

"Anyway, I just looked in every book I could find on Grimm and this creature doesn't show up in any of them. It's not even mentioned."

"Well that's just perfect! We have no idea how to beat this thing _and_ No one else has even seen it!" Weiss yells with a mix of sarcasm and anger.

They hear the creature howl from the other side of the door, trying to force its way into their sanctuary.

"Oh man! It found us already? Can't we ever catch a break!?" Matthew bellows.

The monster charges the door and sends the bookcase flying, unblocking its way in. Ren and Blake ready their weapons.

"You guys make a break for it. Me and Blake will hold it off. Find Ozpin." Ren orders.

"We can't just leave you guys, you won't make it." Yang says trying to reason with the green clad martial artist.

"None of us are going to make it if you don't get to Ozpin. We'll be fine." Blake argues refocusing her attention on the monster.

The usually mellow teens rush towards the beast drawing its attention. The others slip past as they fend of the creature. Ren fires StormFlower into the creature's chest while circling it, trying to confuse it. Blake shift's Gambol shroud into kusarigama form flailing the bladed ribbon at the beast in quick succession. The ribbon wraps around its arm embedding into the side. In its fury the monster swings its snared arm pulling Blake into it batting her down with the other arm. It then swings the assassin into Ren wrapping the weapon around him and tangling him up in the ribbon. Blake collides with Ren and they both are knocked unconscious.

"Ren!" Nora shouts as watches her closest friend fall to the ground.

"Blake!" Yang roars in equal shock.

"We have to go." Weiss says pulling on both of their sleeves.

The remaining half of the combined teams ran swiftly as the beast drags off two more of their friends. They find themselves in the cafeteria, panting from all the running. Their auras were quickly draining from the constant combat.

"How…*pant*… Did we…*pant*…End up here?" Yank asks through shaky breaths.

"I told you…*huff*… We should have…*huff*…Gone left." Weiss answers trying to catch her own breath.

"I'm getting real tired of running." Jaune coughs, resting his hands on his knees.

"Well we're almost there. Ozpin's office shouldn't be much farther." Weiss says assuring the end was near.

"Yeah we just got to make it through- Oof!" Dez was interrupted as a table was flung across the room and into his side, wiping out his remaining aura. The creature stood once again in the groups path of escape.

"Dez!" Matt exclaimed as his partner was sent sailing backwards.

"Arrgh! Give me back my friends you monster!" Nora cried charging the beast throwing chairs at it. She leapt on to its back avoiding the spikes and wrapping her arms around its head blinding it. "Run! Save the others." Nora yelled as the beast franticly tried to throw her off.

The remaining squad ran out of the cafeteria and towards the Headmaster's quarters. Nora clung on to the creatures face for dear life, but as energetic as she was, her boundless energy had reached its limit and she was thrown off into the tables crashing in more ways than one. Nora was out like a busted light.

"How much farther is it?" Yang asks.

"It should be a few more halls down. We're going to make it. Just run." Weiss says.

Suddenly the group heard the beast charging from behind.

"You just had to jinx it didn't you princess?" Yang deadpans. Weiss just gives a sheepish smile.

"Doesn't this thing ever get tired of chasing us?" Matt says losing his patience with their pursuer's persistence.

The beast quickly catches up with them and forces Matthew and Yang into an intersecting hallway, passing them by for other prey.

"Weiss, Jaune it's after you guys." Yang shouts.

"Great! The stupid thing just blocked our way to Ozpin's office." Matthew says sharply. "Now what do we do?"

"I guess we just hide in one of these rooms and when it passes we make a break for it. That's all we can do." Yang answers.

"I guess it is." Matthew sighs. "I'm scared Yang. I've never been so scared in my whole life."

"Hey we'll get through this. We have to. Our friends depend on it."

Meanwhile the creature was closing in on Weiss and Jaune. Weiss trips and slides on the floor.

"Weiss!" Jaune shouts stopping to go back.

"I'm fine, just go." The fencer says picking herself up.

"I won't leave you here."

"We don't have time for this! I said run!"

"I can't. I'm too tired to run. I'd rather go done swinging anyway." He smiles.

"Have it your way." The creature stops in front of them as they ready their weapons for their final stand. "Alright you monster. I've had more than enough of this game. I am Weiss Schnee and I will not let you get away with what you have done to my friends. So let's finish this you over grown throw rug." She proclaims spinning the dust chamber in her weapon.

Weiss glides across the hall directing her rapier at the beasts head. Jaune charges behind her ready to attack at the same time. The creature swings at her with its right claws as she draws near but misses as she propels herself over the creature's head using a glyph, slashing its shoulder and landing safely behind it. Jaune uses the distraction to take a few swings at the beast but it lashes its tail out and hooks his hoodie and pins him to the wall making him drop his shield and sword in the process.

"Oh come on!" Jaune whines as he dangles in the air.

The beast head-butts him in the gut and knocks him out. Weiss seeing this, primes the Dust in Myrtenaster and the sword gleams a brilliant white.

_'__No holding back. It's all or nothing!'_ She mentally prepares herself.

She accelerates herself using another glyph to strike at lightning fast speed. The monster opens its mouth and spreads fire in Weiss's direction. She pierces through the fire like a bullet splitting the stream around her. The fire stops and she awaits her blade's entrance into the beast's chest. But the beast was no longer in front of her. She stops where the beast should have been and looks around confused. The creature is nowhere to be seen. She looks up and gasps as she finds it clinging to the roof and starring straight back at her. Before she can react, the beast drops, bringing its claw down and knocking the heiress to the floor and sending her sword sliding away. The creature pins her to the floor, its heavy body looming over the petite girl. She could do nothing as the last attack had drained the rest of her energy. Weaponless and tired she passes out in submission.

Moments later back where Matthew and Yang had been hiding, the monster walks through the hall searching the remaining two victims. As the creature passed by their room, Matt watched from underneath the door until the coast was clear.

"Come on. I think it left." He says motioning towards Yang for her to join him. The two slowly open the door as to not alert the beast. They poked their heads out and looked in the direction the creature was heading and saw it a large distance away still searching for them, oblivious to their location.

"On three." Matthew says looking at their path of escape. "One… Two… Three!"

The two began sprinting as fast as they could down the hall. The beast heard their footsteps and started to chase them, uttering a long howl.

"I think it knows we're here." Matthew says panicking.

"Just don't look back!" Yang shouted.

They round the corner for the final stretch as the elevator to Ozpin's room came into view.

"Hit the button quick!" Yang shouts as the monster rounds the corner.

Matthew frantically pushes the button to call the elevator. Within a couple of seconds the elevator arrives, opening to allow entrance.

"Get in!" Matt yelled rushing inside.

The creature charges towards the elevator to grab them before they could escape.

"Close the door, close the door!" Yang says as Matthew hits the switch to close the elevator. They scream hugging each other as the creature is now a mere couple of feet in front of them and it leaps towards them. They close their eyes and fall onto their knees. Too terrified to realize what was going on they didn't see the doors closing in front of them. The door finally shuts and the elevator starts its ascent upward.

They arrive at the top and the elevator opens.

"Professor Ozpin! Professor… Oz… pin?" The duo shouts frantically until they see the most dumbfounding sight. In front of them, gathered around a large holographic monitor, they found not only Ozpin but every one of their fallen friends completely unscathed. In front stood Ace and Ruby, looking back at them. A massive grin spreads across their faces at the sight of their terrified teammates.

"Well it's about time you two got here. What took you so long?" Ace says taking in the sight of the distraught pair. He and Ruby look at each other for a couple of seconds before bursting into laughter.

"You should see the looks on your faces! It's too perfect!" Ruby laughs hysterically, crying as she collapses on the ground pointing at the two while grabbing her aching side.

"What… I don't… Huh!?" Yang sputters unable to speak through her confusion.

"What's going on here!?" Matthew yells.

"Just some long overdue payback, that's all." Ace says stifling more laughter.

"We got you two good! It was all a Halloween prank!" Ruby cried still laughing.

"What!?" They shouted. "You two were behind all this?"

"_Maybe._" Ruby says emphasizing the duration of the vowels.

"Wait what about that super Grimm? It's still down there." The male hammer wielder asks.

On cue the elevator opens and the monster steps out along with professor Goodwitch.

"Oh that. That's just a little something me and Ruby put together all week after class when we said we were studying or training." Ace explains tapping on his scroll as the beast sits next to him. "I like to call him Mecha Grimm Chimera."

"A robot?" Matthew inquires.

"Yep. It's amazing what you can do with a big combat drone, weapon and armor engineering skills, and a bunch of scrap metal." Ace says. "Me and Ruby took turns controlling it from up here."

"So what are we all watching in the Headmaster's office?" Glynda asks frowning.

"Oh this really entertaining movie called The Beast of Beacon." Ace says sitting at the desk pulling up a recording of the entire night. "I think this is my favorite part." He stops it at the scene where Yang and Matthew were screaming in the elevator. The female professor smirks.

"Well I hope that you have a copy for me. I'd like to see that film later tomorrow with the other professors."

"Oh there's plenty of copies for everybody."

"Wait you recorded us!?" Matt says in shock.

"Of course. Just like you videotaped me this morning." Ace says crossing his arms. "Let me explain our little scheme. You see, Me and Ruby were getting sick of you two and your antics so on our way to ask about the party we came up with an idea to get back at you. After we got permission for the party we decided to bring the topic up with Ozpin."

"And you gave them permission to do this?" Yang asks surprised that the Headmaster of Beacon would agree to such a thing.

"Well not at first but then Glynda changed my mind." Ozpin said matter of factly.

"Professor Goodwitch? Why would she do that?" Yang asks.

"Because of the stunt Matt pulled in combat class. She _really_ wanted to get back at him. That wasn't a bright idea to mess with her during the lecture." Ace said. "Anyway, we waited during the party for the perfect time to slip away from the party to start our plan. Jaune gave us the perfect chance when he realized we were out of food. So under the guise of a food run we initiated our attack. I ran here while Ruby got ready for her greatest performance. And it was brilliant!"

"But we saw your auras drop. How do you explain that?" Matthew asked.

"Simple. After I got here, Ozpin tapped into the scroll system and made them display false readings. None of us were ever in any danger."

"And what about Ruby? We saw her in that things mouth bleeding!" Yang points out.

"Oh come on Yang. It's only ketchup!" Ruby says folding her arms smiling.

"You used my trick against me?" Yang asks bewildered.

"Yep. And that's not the only thing we borrowed from you two. Show them Ace."

Ace pulls out a second scroll and plays the Ursa roar that Matthew had used to scare him.

"My scroll! You had it the whole time?" Matt says in shock. Ace nods.

"I can't thank you enough for that Ursa recording you had. I mixed it with a Beowolf's howl and used it for the monsters own unique sounds." He presses another button and the animatronic beast let out its signature roar.

"So what about everyone else?"

"Well we didn't plan on them getting caught in the cross fire but once it started we weren't going to stop. If anything they really helped out with the whole scaring you senseless part even if they didn't know it at the time. Ruby and I really got a kick out of it when Weiss cut off the electricity."

"Once again, not my fault." Weiss says blushing.

"If there was no power how did you record everything?" Matthew asks.

"Ozpin has a different power source up here for those things so they were still on. We also outfitted the robot with its own camera in the head piece."

"Of course you did." Matthew frowns.

"You guys did a great job fighting M.G.C. back there. You worried us for a second when you pulled out that little trap of yours. Good thing we took in to consideration your skills when we made him or he would have been toasted scrap."

"Why aren't you guys mad about all of this?" Yang directs her question to those not involved in the plan.

"Oh trust us they were. Weiss was fuming when she found out it was a setup. But after we explained everything they were more than happy to watch you two squirm."

"Yeah, yeah! The monster was like 'Roar!' and you two were like 'Ahhh!" Nora giggles.

"Sorry about the party Nora. It was your idea after all and we kinda messed it up." Ace apologizes.

"Are you kidding me? That was the best Halloween party ever!" Nora shouts happily.

"Yeah that was pretty fun when you think about it." Zweii smiles.

"I'm sorry but you have to admit that was a good trick." Pyrrah says.

"I can't believe you guys." Matthew mutters.

"Well I hope you two have learned your lesson." Glynda says looking at Matthew and Yang.

"Yeah. Never get on Ruby and Ace's bad sides." Matthew says jokingly.

"And we promise to stop scaring you guys so much." Yang adds.

"Thank you. Happy Halloween everybody!" Ace and Ruby shout.

"Happy Halloween!" everyone yells back, including Weiss and Ren.

"I can't wait to get some sleep. My legs are killing me." Jaune groans.

"But what about the party stuff and the mess we made?" Blake asks.

"Oh I forgot about that." Dez says.

"Don't worry about it. Me and Ruby will clean everything up. You know as a way to make it up to you guys for chasing you all night." Ace says.

"Yeah. You guys just leave it to us and get some sleep." Ruby says in agreement.

And with that everybody else returned to their rooms for a well-deserved rest. Truly this would be a night that no one would forget for a very long time.

* * *

**A/N: Yes! 7960 words, 21 pages total. New record. I enjoyed every moment writing this and I hope you had as much fun reading it. Wait. What's that Shadow? Ok I'll tell them. Shadow wants to wish you all a very Happy Howl-oween. *Dodges rock* :p**

**Well this treat doesn't come wothout a price. I'm sorry to say but as of now I have no chapters ready for next week. The last chapter wasn't even complete before I promised this so I'm admitably out of material. I do already have the ideas for the next chapters and I already can promise a Christmas Special. When I will start posting depends on how fast I can put together decent chapter plots. I'm not done with this project yet. I would like to thank the people who stop by and read this and give a special thanks to the few that have faved, followed and reviewed. It means the world to me. I hope all of you out there have a Happy Halloween and I'll see you next time. Long Live RWBY!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Capture the Flag: Team AZRE vs Team JNPR**

* * *

The air is cold and frigid. The enemy is nowhere in sight. My team cannot determine whether they are waiting for us patiently at their base, or if they are lying in wait, planning an ambush for us. No matter their course our objective is clear. We must obtain their flag at all costs, by any means necessary.

"Dez are you in position?" I ask speaking into my scroll. I had sent Dez ahead to scout out the area. His stealth is vital for getting the upper hand on our foes.

"Affirmative. I have the base in my sights." He answers back.

"Any sign of Team JNPR?"

"Negative. I have yet to spot any of them. I don't like this boss. I'm sure they wouldn't leave their flag completely unguarded." He replies worriedly.

"Maintain position. I'm sending you some reinforcement. Do not engage unless it is completely necessary." I order.

"Copy that. Over and out." He finishes. The line goes silent as I look down to my other teammates beneath the branch I was perched on.

"Hey Matt you have places to be. I'm sending you forward to support your partner."

"Finally! I'm tired of waiting here doing nothing." Matt shouts hefting Vulcan over his right shoulder.

"Matt, patience and silence are both virtues." I deadpan.

"Well I wasn't blessed with either." He says as he walks away toward the enemy base.

"Just don't get taken out." His only responds by waving his free hand behind him.

"So what do we do?" Zweii asks moving from the tree he was leaning on.

"Let's head back to base. If JNPR isn't at their base then they're probably moving towards ours." I say as I scan the area. I feel that they are close but I can't pinpoint where or how far they are.

"Think they're watching us?" Zweii asks as we run back to base.

"No, I don't think they've even seen us. They're getting close though. I don't know if Matt will be able to reach Dez before running into at least one of them."

"You have a plan?" He asks.

I reply with a smile. "Of course."

* * *

As we lay in wait for the enemy at our base I explain the plan to Zweii. With the idea laid out we took our positions. As we wait we hear an explosion in the distance.

"Sounds like Dez located some of Team JNPR." I say smiling.

"Or they found him. I wonder how many he's fighting." Zweii says.

We look up into the sky to see one of Dez's arrows explode in midair. A light blue cloud was left in the aftermath.

"Two. That leaves two for us at most." I state. The arrows were part of a signaling system we came up with before we started the session. A fire arrow meant one while an ice arrow meant two. If he fired two arrows it meant three to four depending on the combination he used. Simple but effective.

We hear footsteps approaching us. Out from the brush appears none other than Jaune's fiery headed partner, Pyrrah. What's interesting is she is alone AND she has Matt's hammer.

_'__Matt didn't make it to Dez. I wonder how well he's dealing with two opponents.'_

* * *

_At JNPR's Base…_

* * *

Dezaryl continued to monitor the base from a safe distance as he was instructed. He still had no visual of any of the opposing team and Matthew still had not shown up.

_'__This doesn't make any sense. If they were already heading to the base I would have seen them on the way here. But they aren't even here at the base. Maybe they went around while I traveled straight…' _Dez thought to himself laying out the possible actions that were taken by the other team while continuing to scope out the area from atop the tree branch.

Suddenly he could hear voices approaching from behind. They were back tracking to the base.

"Nora, are you sure you saw something heading this way?" The first voice asked. It was Ren's voice.

"I'm absolutely, one-hundred and ten percent sure Ren. One of them was sneaking his way to our base." Nora said happily.

_'__Oh no. How did she spot me? How did I not see them? If they find me I don't know if I can hold them both off.'_

"Our flag appears to be untouched. Maybe it was just your imagination." Ren observes.

"But Ren, I know I saw someone." Nora whined.

Ren scans the area for anything out of the ordinary. He spots a few broken twigs around a tree. Nora was right. She did see someone. He could sense something watching him with his aura.

"Nora, there in that tree!" Ren says pointing at the tree Dez was perched.

Nora fires Magnhild, launching a grenade with a pink heart sailing towards Dez.

_'__So much for stealth'_ Dez thinks as he jumps away from the oncoming projectile. He lands a distance in front of Nora and Ren. The grenade bursts into an explosion of pink toppling the tree.

"See? I knew I saw him!" Nora cheers. "You owe me a stack of pancakes!"

"Dang, I was _really _hoping you wouldn't find me up there." Dez says.

"Nora's really good at hide and seek. Years of practice finding her really pays off when tracking your opponent." Ren says unenergetically yet still with a smile.

"Well then it looks like my only option is to fight." Dez says drawing an arrow and sliding it into the draw string of his bow.

"Think you can take me and Ren out alone?" Nora grins.

"Were about to find out." Dez says as he quickly fires the arrow straight up into the air.

Ren slides StormFlower down his sleeves and fires rapid shots towards Dez. The archer ducks and weaves through twin streams of projectiles, pulling the string of his bow to collapse it into his long sword. Ren side runs keeping his sights on Dez while Nora switches Magnhild to its deadly war hammer form.

Dez closes the distance between himself and Ren and swung his long sword. Ren blocks with his dual bladed SMGs catching the blade before it could hit him. They stood there locked against each other's weapons until Nora came in from the side slamming her hammer down at Dez. Ren flipped away while Dez was sent backward by the force of the impact alone. He dared not guess what that would do to him if it actually connected.

_'__I can't fight with those two sticking so close together. I need to separate them somehow.'_ Dez thinks to himself.

Dez runs towards Ren slashing at him with his sword. The gunslinger blocks and parries with the ax blades adorning the front of his guns. He swings the left gun firing towards Dez's face, missing as he ducks out of the way. Dez head-butts Ren in the gut and swings his blade free of the second SMG. As Ren catches his breath Dez darts to the trees with Nora hot on his trail.

Dez ducks behind a tree winded from the chase. He switches to using his bow and takes an arrow from the quiver on his back. His aura flares and he jumps out of way as Nora slams her hammer into the other side of the tree and detonates one of the pink grenades obliterating the tree into splinters. Nora smiles widely pointing the head of Magnhild behind her and pulling the trigger propelling her towards Dez.

_'__Oh, this is going to hurt…' _Dez sighs internally.

Nora swings Magnhild upwards and connecting with Dez's chest and fires once more accelerating Dez upwards. He lands in a branch a pulls an arrow from his quiver, quickly drawing it.

Ren finds Nora looking up at the tree. He follows her line of sight and spots Dez waiting with a drawn arrow. Nora points her hammer down and grips the trigger.

"Nora don't!" Ren yells, but he is too late as his partner pulls the trigger launching herself to Dez's level. She prepares a downward swing but her turquoise eyes widen when she finds herself in Dez's crosshairs, so to speak.

"Check Mate." Dez says evenly as he lets loose the arrow into Nora's chest exploding into a blue mist, and freezing the hyper hammer wielder. She falls to the ground below encased in ice.

"That's one down." Dez says gazing at his final opponent. "And one to go."

Ren rushes to Nora's side. "Are you okay?" He asks his incapacitated partner, forgetting she couldn't move her mouth for once. All that came was incoherent mumbling. "Hold that thought Nora." He fires StormFlower with precision thawing out the ice around her head.

"I-It's f-f-freezing i-in here." She shivers.

"How about when we get back to the dorm I make you some hot chocolate with those pancakes?" Ren asks.

"W-With m-marshmallows?"

"Yes Nora. With marshmallows." Ren says grinning.

"Y-Yay!"

Dez jumps down from the tree landing away from Ren and his human icicle of a friend.

"Sorry I had to put your girl on ice, but I have a flag to retrieve." Dez mocks running towards the base.

"R-Ren w-will s-stop you. Go g-get h-him!" Nora shouts through her shivering.

Ren nods and chases Dez firing StormFlower every step of the way. Dez stops and pivots firing another Ice Dust arrow at his pursuer but the arrow is shot down by Ren's focused fire. Dez runs towards Ren side stepping through bullets. As he reaches Ren he slides underneath him and using Ren's own momentum against him, curls his legs against Ren's chest and launches him behind him. As Ren remained airborne, Dez flips himself onto his feet and fires a Burn Dust arrow, striking his back and sending him into a tree.

"Well that takes care of that." Dez says dusting of his tunic. He walks over to the flag and hoists it from the ground. "I better check in with Ace.

* * *

_Back at AZRE Base…_

* * *

Zweii strikes from behind a boulder surprising Pyrrah. He brings his sword down on her but was blocked by her spear. She smiles as she holds off the massive blade.

"I didn't think you would leave your flag unguarded." She says.

"And I didn't think Matt would lose so quickly. Why do you have his weapon?" Zweii asks.

"Oh it was an accident really. After Jaune and I engaged him in combat, I kind of sent his hammer flying. I was just bringing it back since I found it on the way." She answers.

"What happened to Jaune?"

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

* * *

Matthew and Jaune lay on their backs sprawled out underneath the trees.

"Hey Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"You flew _really_ high." Matt chuckles.

"And you hit insanely hard."

"Yeah. I so wish I could have taken a picture."

"Sorry about your hammer. I can't believe she sent it flying so far."

"Eh, I'm sure it will turn up."

"Ugh, don't mention up."

"But it was so funny. You were hanging from the top branch by your hood."

"Yeah well it was pretty funny when Pyrrah nailed you with her shield."

"Oh man, I thought my head was never going to stop spinning. Your girlfriend is brutal."

"Girlfriend? But she's… We're not… She's not my girlfriend!"

"If you say so Jaune. If you say so."

* * *

_Back to AZRE Base…_

* * *

The two combatants disengage briefly. Pyrrah throws Vulcan down by the flag so it would not interfere with her fighting.

"So where's your leader? Not asleep in the trees again I hope." She smirks swinging her xiphos at Zweii's shoulder.

_'__Hey that was one time. Shadow didn't want to stop playing that night.'_

Zweii deflects Pyrrah's attack with his blade easily before swiping at her.

"You wish." Zweii scoffs, narrowly missing Pyrrah as she evades backwards. "Maybe I'll tell you where he went if you beat me."

_'__Careful Oh Knight in Shining Armor. Remember she's a four time regional champion for a reason.'_ I mentally scold him. _'I wonder what Dez is doing.'_

The fight continues on with neither side budging an inch. Zweii is definitely giving it his all, but Pyrrah was living up to her title. She deflected virtually every blow and used every opportunity to make a quick strike against Zweii's aura.

Zweii brings his sword down once more trying to smash her into the ground, but the attack falls short in front of her. He was not about to give up on his strike. He spins around and brings his sword upward catching both Pyrrah's shield and sword and knocking them both out of her hands disarming her. He points the tip of his blade at her chest.

"Can you still fight?" Zweii asks looking down the length of his zweihander.

"You have me at sword point and my weapons are…" She starts but he cuts her off.

"That's not what I asked. Can you still fight? He asks once more.

"Yes I am still combat worthy." The Spartan answers. Zweii pulls back his blade.

"Pick up your weapons then. I will not fight an unarmed opponent. My opponents will either best me or they will fall with their weapons in hand. Such is my code." He finishes.

Pyrrah smiles as she gets up and retrieves her weapons.

"You know you're the first to give me a decent fight in a long time. No one has ever gone as far as disarming me." She compliments.

"Which is why it would be a shame to end the fight on such a trivial technicality rather than fight to the bitter end, wouldn't you agree?" Zweii enquires smiling.

"Indeed." Pyrrah says, readying herself for the second round.

Zweii shifts Dragon's Wrath into shield form and charges.

_'__Now he's getting up close and personal. He can swing his shield faster than his sword as well.'_

Pyrrah swings her xiphos at, but it's deflected by Zweii's shield. He bashes her in the chest earning his first solid hit. He tries to follow up with a punch but his gauntlet hits steel as Pyrrah blocks it. Zweii swips with his shield arm again trying to slash her with the bayonet.

"That's as far as you go." Pyrrah says blocking the attack and summoning a black aura around Zweii's armor, and sending him backwards as if he was nothing but a doll.

_'__Interesting.'_

_'__What's interesting?'_ Dez's voice asks entering my thoughts.

_'__Oh hey Dez. I was just wondering how you were doing without Matt's assistance.'_

_'__It went fine. I'm coming back to base with the flag. How are things going on your end?'_

_'__Zweii and Pyrrah are facing off at the base.'_

_'__You're not helping him?'_

_'__Nope. Zweii likes fighting one on one. If Pyrrah had a partner then I would intervene.'_

_'__Alright then. I'm probably halfway to the base now so I'll see you soon.'_

_'__Roger that.'_

Zweii lands on his feet and slides backwards from the force of Pyrrah's assumed semblance. He switches to his weapon back into blade form and charges forward again.

"That won't work." Pyrrah taunts summoning up the black aura again. As she starts to push Zweii back again he drives his sword into the ground and braces himself. He begins to be pushed back slightly but with his sword being used as an anchor he doesn't move far. His left hand begins to glow with fire and he punches the ground, summoning pillars of fire from the ground and towards Pyrrah.

She evades to left with the flames barely missing her and pulses he semblance, severing Zweii's grip on his blade and once again pushing him off the ground. As he sails backwards Pyrrah hurls her shield at him and pegs him in the chest, the shield ricocheting off and back into her hand. His aura drops to red as he lands.

"That was a grand battle, but now I will claim the objective." She says looking at the flag. "Oh and are you going to tell me where your leader is?" She asks remembering the deal.

"He's right in front of you." Zweii smiles as Pyrrah grips the flag, frowning in confusion. When she tries to lift the flag she finds it to be stuck. I uncloak revealing myself to be just where Zweii had said. In front of her, holding the flag.

"Surprise." I say as I lift the flag up and pull it out of her hands.

I spin the in on my right side and strike her left shoulder, then alternate it to my left side and hit her right. My plan is working as she is surprised by my sudden appearance. I take the flag in my right hand and jab her in the chest with the head of the flag multiple times. I finish with an upward swing that sends her sliding back. I throw the flag back into the ground.

"Well that was unexpected. You caught me off guard."

"I will not hesitate to use the element of surprise." I grin.

"I've never seen you use your semblance before. It looks like you can use it to become invisible."

"Correct, and thanks to my partner here I now know yours."

"So you were watching the entire time?" She asks.

I nod. "Every move."

"Well let's see if you can actually use that knowledge." She says raising her shield.

"Let's" I respond drawing Lunar Fang and attacking.

She blocks effortlessly and counters. Swing after swing she seemingly copies her movements from earlier to block my sword. I retreat back to the flag and plan my next move. I rush her again and she hurls her shield at me. I throw my claymore down and jump, landing on the disc briefly before jumping forward off of it. Pyrrah activates her semblance again expecting to push me back. To her shock and dismay I continue onwards delivering a spinning kick to the face sending her to the ground.

"How did you resist my semblance?" She asks as she gets up.

"Your semblance is polarity giving you control over magnetism. That's how you stopped Zweii and pushed him back. It's a very handy ability to use against people who use metal." I elaborate.

"Very perceptive, but it still doesn't explain why I couldn't push you back."

"You were unable to push me back because my armor isn't made of metal." I say hitting my chest plate electing a hollow knocking noise. Her eyes widen with realization.

"It's real Grimm plating! But how is that possible? Grimm disintegrate after they are slain leaving nothing behind. Armor like that shouldn't even exist."

"But it can with a family trick I picked up on. Infusing the pieces with the correct mixture of Dust stops the disintegration of Grimm bodies. My great grandfather discovered this technique by pure coincidence and he kept the details secret from anyone outside of my family."

"You're just full of secrets and surprises aren't you?" She asks smiling.

"You don't know the half of it." I say picking up Vulcan.

"You're not going to use your own weapon?" Pyrrah asks.

"Nope."

"Do you even know how to use Matthew's hammer?"

I grin at the question. "Pyrrah, Pyrrah, Pyrrah. Who do you think made Vulcan in the first place?"

It's true. Matt's a lot of things. Stubborn, funny, a great friend and let's not forget, borderline insane at times, but a weapon smith he is not. Of course he didn't think he would find interest in fighting monsters to begin with so learning how to put a weapon together from scratch wasn't high on his list of things to learn.

When Matt told me he wanted to become a huntsman, he asked for lessons on how to properly use a weapon. Lessons are easy, picking a weapon is not. It turned into a trial by error sort of deal. I offered any weapon imaginable and the weapon he could use best would be his.

He wasn't bad with most weapons but he wasn't the best either, until he got his hands on his first hammer. That's when his potential shined as bright as the full moon on a cloudless winter night. So that's what I trained him to use.

When Matt got to Signal he was tasked with creating his own modified weapon and the results were… Catastrophic. Nothing he attempted to create came close to being called functional or practical. Despite his many failures he remained determined to make one work without assistance, even from me. That was until he gave the weapon shop teacher a concussion. The head of his latest version flew of the handle mid swing and hit him from across the room. While Matt chalked that up as another failure I saw it as an interesting success waiting to happen.

After that he caved in and allowed me to help him craft his weapon. I developed a working design and blueprint and he managed to do the rest. The detachable head bound to the handle by a chain system was even incorporated into the final design.

I take a few practice swings to get use to the weight and to get reacquainted with using a hammer. Matt's better suited by far to wield this weapon since it was built around his strengths but it's still manageable.

I attack with a downward smash which she avoids easily. She counters by swinging at my side but I block with Vulcan's massive head. I gain some distance from her and fire the hammer like a cannon with the head being the ball. She uses her magnetism to move it to her side before impact.

_'__Not this time.'_

I spin, swinging Vulcan around full circle catching Pyrrah with the chain and wrapping around her arms and torso. With her now trapped I swing the hammer again slamming her into a tree before releasing her.

"That was clever. Using my own force against me like that. Seems you really did learn something after all." She says politely. Even in heavy combat Pyrrah is the most polite person in the world.

"Let's finish this." I say reeling Vulcan's head back into place.

She nods and we charge at each other, clashing weapons with great force. We're both showing signs of fatigue as we both breathe heavily while holding each other off. I just need to hold her off for a little longer. Unfortunately Pyrrah has other ideas and flips Vulcan out of my hands and trips me with a low sweep kick. Vulcan lands behind me as I lie on my back with her boot on my chest and her spear at my throat.

"I believe I have won this battle." She smirks. I return my own and laugh a little.

"Perhaps, but you have lost the war. I wasn't expecting to beat you, just to keep you busy." I say pointing towards our flag. Her expression changes to shock as we both look to see Dez holding both flags in an x-shape over his head.

"Dezaryl Ravenhawk has claimed the enemy flag. There for victory is awarded to Team: AZRE." Glynda says thorough a nearby speaker. Pyrrah grabs my hand and pulls me up onto my feet.

"Well done. That was an excellent match." She says ever graciously even in defeat.

"Thanks. Hey look, here comes the others." Matt and Jaune walk up first.

"Yes! We got the flag!" Matt cheers.

"Yes and I have your hammer." I say reuniting Matt with Vulcan.

"Ah, there's my boy. I was wondering where you'd turn up."

"Ace got me pretty good with your hammer." Pyrrah says.

"You fought her with my weapon?" Matt asks.

"Sure did. I know it's what you would have wanted."

"You're too kind. Oh man you should have been there when I sent Jaune skyward. He flew like a…"

"Can we please not talk about it?" Jaune interrupts looking sick at the mention of his unexpected trip to the stratosphere.

"Heh, right… Sorry Jaune." Matt smiles sheepishly. Nora and Ren walk out from the brush as Dez and Zweii join the group.

"Oh my D-Dust Dez, t-that was sooo c-cold." Nora says still shivering.

"Right. Sorry about that." Dez apologizes.

"What happened to her?" Zweii asks.

"Dez got her with an Ice Dust arrow. Froze her completely solid." Ren says as Nora hugs him in an attempt to steal his warmth.

Professor Goodwitch walks up with the rest of the combat class.

"Excellent work on both sides. This, students, is a fine example of strategy and combat. Mister Wolfblade, I'm impressed with your ability to adapt during combat, however I would advise you to rethink your strategy as to not lose as many teammates." Goodwitch says reviewing her notes.

"Yes Ma'am"

"Miss Nikos, as always your fighting skills properly reflect someone of your level but next time, do not forget the objective."

"Yes professor."

"That will be all for today. Class dismissed."

"Man I'm exhausted!" Matt groans.

"Well Port's class is next so maybe you can sneak in a nap during one of his stories." Dez jokes.

"Aw but I like his stories." Matt continues to whine as he was torn between desired rest or listening to one of Port's infamous tales.

"Come on let's go." Zweii says evenly.

I can't help but smile at the team before me. In such a seemingly short time we had become thick as thieves. I silently pray that these times would never end.

* * *

_Later In Ozpin's Office…_

* * *

Ozpin sat as his desk, sipping from his mug as he reviewed some important paperwork. All classes would soon be over for the day and he would no doubt have more documents filling his workspace. Such was the life of a headmaster. The door to the elevator opens and Professor Goodwitch steps out with a folder in her hand.

"Ah, Glynda. Good to see you. How are your lectures going?" Ozpin asks greeting the platinum blonde.

"Fine sir." She replies simply.

"How are the teams doing? I'm sure you have a report on their progress." He says confidently.

"Yes sir. The students are doing well, particularly teams, RWBY, JNPR, and AZRE." She answers with professionalism.

"I expected as much. They show great potential and promise. I only wish more teams could be more like them." He says smiling.

"Yes well there is an issue that I must address." Glynda says pressing her glasses in to place.

"Oh? What seems to be the matter?" He asks raising his eyebrow.

"One student in particular is concerning us."

"Glynda I've already stated that while Mister Arc is not well suited in combat, he is making progress and…"

"While the leader of JNPR still concerns me, the issue does not concern Jaune Arc." She interrupts. "Surveillance has captured a few unsettling things. A student is regularly breaking curfew and leaving the school." She continues pulling out a recording of a figure roaming the halls and leaving Beacon. "The purpose of these routine departures was unclear as was the identity of the student."

"This is peculiar but as it stands now I fail to see why this is raising such concern. Why not intercept the student before they leave the front doors?" Ozpin asks.

"Myself and the other professors have already attempted to put an end to this. We've waited for the student on many occasions but have not been able to catch the student in the act of exiting or returning to the school. We have heard the student walking through the halls while we stood watch but there was never any sign of them."

"Do you have anything further?" Ozpin asks. She nods pulling up another recording.

"This was taken today during an exercise between Team JNPR and Team AZRE." She explains as she fast forwards the footage until she finds the correct scene and freezes it. It was a still image of Pyrrah and Ace fighting each other. Glynda zooms in on a black blur in the background and enhances the image. Ozpin rises from his chair slowly at the sight of the new image. In the back of the scene was a Beowolf, wearing a collar.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ozpin asks concern evident in his voice.

"Sir this is far more serious than a student simply breaking curfew. I don't think I have to explain my concern with what you are no doubt now aware of. A student by some means is sheltering a Grimm like some common pet." She says in a worried tone.

"Do we have any idea as to who could be responsible for this?" Ozpin asks as calmly as he can. Glynda again simply answers with a nod and hands him the folder. The headmaster is disheartened at the suspect.

"All evidence points to this student."

"We must address this matter immediately. Tomorrow I want that student in my office. No exceptions."

"Understood sir."

"Is that all you have for me?"

"Yes sir."

"Very well then. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You may go." Ozpin says as he continues to stare at the folder.

Glynda takes her leave. Ozpin sits back down in his chair and throws the folder onto his desk. He rubs his temple and sighs.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" He mutters turning his chair away from his desk. Upon its surface laid the open personnel file of Ace Wolfblade.

* * *

**A/N: Hey I'm finally back! I've been working really hard to get things moving again with the story and finally have a chapter to show for it. The chapter after this one is also nearly complete. That being said I'm sorry for the delay.**

**In other news, I have decided that the Special will be out when it gets out. I don't think I will hit my desired goal but hey the story must go on and I am not waiting a full year just to do so.**

**And finally, you know how the characters from RWBY have an allusion to some fictional character? Well mine are too! I think they are pretty obvious but I want to see if any of you get who they are. It's not required of course but it's fun to guess right?**

**So that wraps up this note. What will happen to Ace and Shadow? Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Shifting Shadows: A Wolf Amongst Huntsmen**

* * *

"…ake …p"

_'__What?'_

"Wa… u…"

_'__Is someone calling me?'_ I can hear a voice, soft and faint. Someone is trying to tell me something, but I can't make out what they're saying.

"Wake up." The voice calls again much clearer. The voice sounds feminine but also echoed and a bit… Off. I open my eyes to stare into darkness.

"Where am I? Hello?" I call trying to figure out where I am, and more importantly how I got here. There's nothing around me when I was with Weiss in the… Wait. I'm dreaming? That would explain where I am and how I got here with no memory of it.

A light appears in front of me. It's a small, white orb that resembles a small flame. It flickers and pulses like it's alive.

"Eerie." I mutter.

The white orb expands, flashing with an intense brightness.

* * *

I open my eyes for the second time. I'm awake in my team's room. The rest of the guys are still sleeping. Zweii lay straight like a fallen statue as he rested easy. Dez was thoroughly wrapped in his sheets like it was a cocoon of comfort protecting him while he dreamt. And Matt had managed to flip off of his back, position himself face down on his sheets and while still holding his pillow close with his right hand, turned one-hundred and eighty degrees to where his head was where his feet should have been with his left arm draped over the side of his bed. As I get up I feel dizzy.

"That was weird." I say softly, referring to the brief dream. I check the time. 7:00 AM. Classes won't start for a couple of hours.

I could just go back to sleep for a little longer, but I'm still a little unnerved by that dream for some reason. Breakfast won't be served for a while so I can't eat. I think I'll just do some early morning training. But first, a shower. I get up and walk to the door. As I step outside I find Professor Goodwitch waiting in the hall.

"I see you're up early Mister Wolfblade." She greets me with her usual stern voice, albeit a little quieter as to not wake anyone.

"Um, good morning professor. What are you doing outside our room so early?" I ask yawning.

"Professor Ozpin has requested your presence in his office. Alone." She says frowning. She may be the only person I know that frowns more than the Ice Queen.

"Uh, sure. May I use the shower first?" I ask still being affected by the sickening sensation that hit me after waking up.

"Ozpin wishes to see you immediately. Are you feeling alright? You seem ill." She asks noticing my uneasiness.

"I'm fine, I think. Just feel a little dizzy for some reason. Nothing serious." I answer.

"Hmm. Alright then. Go ahead and take your shower, but make it quick. I expect to see you in Ozpin's office in no later than twenty minutes." She says adjusting her glasses.

"Yes Ma'am. Thank you." She nods and leaves.

Well that was an unexpected way to start the morning. I walk to the boy's showers and turn on the warm water. I step into the shower and let the water wash over me. As I shower I can't help but think about the dream I had. It felt as if Dez was using his semblance on me, but he was sleeping so he it couldn't have been him. I don't think he would do something like that anyway.

And that voice. I've never heard it before but it seemed strangely familiar. I don't even know how that makes sense. I push the thought of the dream from my mind.

"It probably wasn't anything." I reason. "Just some random dream. Still…"

And what about Goodwitch? She said Ozpin wanted to see me. I'm certain he sent her to retrieve me when I woke up. But we have class today. Why would she wait? Maybe I woke up around the time she got to our room. But why? She made it sound urgent. I hope it's nothing serious.

I turn off the shower and towel off. The water seems to have fixed that nasty feeling. I put my gear on and walk to the elevator, pressing the button to call it down. The door opens and I step in, the doors closing behind me. I feel the elevator move to the next destination. It stops shortly after, reaching the top and opening. Inside Ozpin's office stood Goodwitch, Port, and Oobleck standing on either side of the sizable desk sitting in the middle of the round room. The headmaster himself was sitting in his chair.

_'__Why are they here?'_

"Mister Wolfblade. Glad you could make it on time." Goodwitch starts. "Are you feeling better?" She asks her expression softening slightly.

"Yes actually. It seems to have passed." I answer.

"Good to hear." Ozpin looks at her questioningly. "Young Wolfblade here was feeling a bit disoriented this morning." She explains, not even looking at the headmaster.

"I see." Ozpin simply acknowledges. "Any ideas as to why?"

_'__Yeah. That weird dream might have something to do with it. No, I already decided it was nothing.' _I think to myself. "No sir. Must be having an off day." I look to the other professors. They remained silent but observant. "Is everything okay?" I ask.

"That is something I can't safely say at the moment." Ozpin answers, his usual optimistic smile failing him. "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to ask you a few questions."

"Of course sir. I'll help in any way I can." He nods.

"How are you enjoying your time here at Beacon?"

_'__Odd question. Then again so is this morning.'_ "Well it's definitely interesting. Beats working back at the family forge all day. I'm getting to meet a lot of new people so that's a plus. And I'm learning a lot about being a Huntsman."

"Good. Tell me a little about home. You say your family owns a forge?" He asks with interest.

"Yes. My family makes weapons and armor. A few basic items here and there and some Dust but most of the time it's special requests for upcoming Huntsmen and Huntresses or repairing broken items. It's a family business. They've been making weapons for a long time."

"And you made your own equipment I assume?"

"Correct. I was taught early on how to make everything we sell."

Oobleck cuts in. "So why are you here learning how to fight monsters rather than staying at home and working there? You must be the next in line to inherit the business."

"Well, I wanted to do more with my life. It's true that one day I will run the business, and that's not a problem. I love my family's work and will gladly continue it. But I feel as though I could give so much more to the world in the meantime. Being a Huntsman would help me do that. I could help others, meet new people, and go places I've never been."

"Interesting answer, very interesting indeed." The green haired professor says in his usual fast pace.

"If you don't mind me asking, what materials did you use for your armor?" Ozpin asks.

"Excuse me?"

"Your armor. What is it made out of? It looks very real."

"Well you see the thing is… It _is_ real." This gets a reaction from Port.

"My boy that is impossible. Grimm cannot be preserved for any purpose. As a young Huntsman in training you must know that their bodies disappear after death. Anything that resembles Grimm is a replica made from more natural materials." He argues.

"As far as you know. I understand your doubt but I can assure you it's genuine." I smirk.

"I will be the judge of that." He says in his booming voice.

"Knock yourself out." I shrug.

He steps closer, examining the armor carefully. He feels the fur of my helmet, checks the texture of the scales, and tests the plates on my arm. Port steps back astonished.

"So Professor Port, What is it really?" Oobleck asks.

"He speaks the truth. It's real Grimm material." He answers in shock.

"Told you so. Pyrrah didn't believe it was real either, until she figured out she couldn't magnetize it."

"You can't be serious Port. Are you absolutely certain?" Oobleck asks swiftly drinking from his cup.

"Don't forget Bartholomew, I am a seasoned Huntsman myself. When you have fought for as long as I have, you never forget what they feel like when you grapple against them with your bare hands." He boasts. "This is simply amazing! My dear boy, you must tell me how you could accomplish something like this!" he says with excitement.

"I can't. Not exactly how at least. It was something my great grandfather discovered. By using the right mixture of Dust, he found a way to keep them from vanishing. My helmet was actually the first he ever used it on. He made the helmet, I made the rest. I'm not allowed to tell anyone how he or I did it." Port seemed disheartened at that last part.

"Shame. I wished to have learned how for myself, but I will respect your great grandfather's wish to keep his technique secret." He sighs.

"Thank you professor. If you want I could always preserve some real trophies for you, provided I have the proper supplies of course." I suggest.

"I just might take you up on that offer someday. Another joyous hunting adventure to tell about, Hah Ha!" He laughs.

_'__Oh what have I done?"_ I internally moan.

"Moving on then." Ozpin says regaining control of the conversation. "How is your team? You've been together for a few months now. Surely you've gained some insight on your friends and their abilities."

"Well there's my partner Zweii." I start.

"Mister Dragos." Ozpin confirms.

"Yeah. He's a really great guy. He's pretty smart, strong too. He's chivalrous to a fault. He's more of a Knight than a Huntsman, looks and attitude. He's real skilled in combat and I'm glad to have someone like him watching my back."

"Glynda tells me that you allowed him to fight Miss Nikos on his own. A very risky move considering her reputation." Ozpin says taking a brief drink from his own coffee mug.

"Yes I told him that too, but he insisted on fighting one on one."

"So you let him disobey your orders and act on his own?"

"I let him be who he is. I told you he's a Knight before all else. The way he chooses to handle his battles is his own. Sure it led to his defeat against Pyrrah but I'm sure he already knew the possible consequences of his actions."

"Very well. Please continue."

"Then there's Dezaryl. He's agile, quick witted, and really good when it comes to reconnaissance." I frown slightly. "He told me what happened to him and his family."

"Yes Ravenhawk's circumstances were unfortunate." Ozpin says dryly.

"Despite his misfortunes, he still strives to do anything in his power to make things right, no matter how much the odds are stacked against him." I continue.

"You seem to have a lot of faith in him."

"I don't think there's anything he wouldn't do for his allies. He'd give his life in a second if it meant the well-being of those he cares for."

"And what of Mister Erthanos?" Ozpin inquires.

"Matthew is the best friend I could ever ask for. Sure he's stubborn and can be a pain sometimes, but he's the most loyal person I know, and by far the strongest."

"Mister Erthanos does have a unique aptitude in strength to be assured." Glynda confirms sighing. She's had to clean up the training area multiple times after he used it.

"That's not what I meant. His greatest strength doesn't come from his raw power, but rather from his heart. Matthew's love for his friends and family is the fuel that drives his passion for battle. That's why he fights so hard. Why he wants to be here. That's what makes him strong." I finish. Ozpin nods his head smiling.

"Professor Ozpin, I think it's time to get to the matter at hand." Glynda interrupts. Ozpin sighs in response.

"Mister Wolfblade. Do you know why we have asked you here?" he asks.

"No sir."

"Professor Goodwitch has reported that an unknown student has been caught roaming the halls late at night. Have you heard anything to confirm this?"

_'__Uh-oh.'_ "No sir. I'm a pretty deep sleeper." Goodwitch frowns at the answer. "However if I do hear something about it come up I will be sure to inform you immediately." I quickly add.

"I don't think that will be necessary." Goodwitch says in a tone that I definitely don't feel comfortable hearing.

"Professor?"

"Enough staling." Goodwitch snaps pulling up an image that makes this morning's uneasiness seem like nothing compared to the horrible feeling spreading through my body now. I felt as if I was being pricked by thousands of burning pins.

_'__Oh-No!'_

"Would you care to explain this?" She asks pointing at an image of Shadow. "It's a Beowolf with what appears to be your crest hanging around its neck."

My heart sank endlessly within my chest. They found him. They know I've been hiding him. I hang my head down staring blankly at the floor.

"… I can explain."

"We don't just want an explanation. We want the truth. You have been no doubt lying to us to cover your trail and protect another of your secrets." Oobleck deduces accurately.

"Are you or are you not the one breaking curfew and leaving the school?" Ozpin asks.

"I am." I admit.

"And what of your connection to this Grimm?" He asks.

"It's true. He's mine. He's my pet."

"That simply cannot be. Grimm are the manifestation of darkness. They cannot be tamed." Port explains.

"You also didn't believe they could be preserved either." I retort. "It sounds insane I know, but I'm telling you he's not a threat. I can prove it. You just have to trust me." I plead.

"And how do you propose to do that?" Port asks.

"I'll show you. I'll take you to Shadow."

"Mister Wolfblade. You have broken curfew, lied to us when questioned, and brought the very bane of humanity into our midst. You face permanent expulsion from Beacon. How are we supposed to believe your word?" Goodwitch scolds.

"…"

"Does anyone else know about this?" Ozpin asks.

"My parents." I answer briefly.

"And they simply allowed you to keep mankind's greatest threat like some stray dog?" He asks with disbelief.

"To be fair they put me through what you're doing now before I convinced them."

"Anyone else?"

"No one else I would like to disclose. I do not want others paying for my mistakes. I will accept full responsibility and the consequences myself."

Ozpin considers this intently. "Very well then. Take us to your creature. We will determine its innocence as well as your standing here at Beacon." He decides rising from his chair.

"Yes sir."

I am escorted to the elevator by the other professors. We step in one by one. Port and Oobleck stood in the back while Ozpin and Goodwitch stood in front. I was stood center like a VIP, except it felt like I was a criminal being led to execution.

_'__I must prove his innocence. I won't let them take Shadow away from me.'_

* * *

We proceed down the cliff side and approach the front of the forest a short time later. The sun has barely come up revealing only small rays of light. The professors keep a constant vigil over me.

"Go on then. Take us to it." Goodwitch commands.

"No. He will come to us." I whistle, starting high and bring the pitch lower, ending with a medium tone. Shadow's call. The whistle echoes through the forest and is heard by Shadow. He howls in the distance startling birds and sending them scattering from their roosts. He's not very far away. Glynda draws her crop and Port his blunderbuss ax.

"Wait. Let's observe before we act. Give him a chance." Ozpin orders.

They keep their weapons drawn but relax their stances. Shadow walks out of the woods but stops when he sees the extra company.

"It's okay bud, they won't hurt you." _'I hope.'_ "Friends." Shadow steps closer wagging his tail. "There we go." I smile. "You were supposed to stay out of sight." I playfully scold him. He rears up and pushes me onto the ground, licking my face. "I know you're sorry. Now behave. I have some people who would like to see you." Shadow steps off my chest and sits while I get up, dusting myself off. "Professor Port. You're a Grimm enthusiast. Would you care to examine him?" I ask.

"He won't attack?" He asks.

"Not unless provoked. Even then he usually just growls. Unlike other Grimm, he actually likes people in general unless given a reason not to, so you will be fine." I explain.

Port approaches shadow steadily. Shadow simply cocks his head to the side awaiting Port's next move. Port's hand reaches Shadow's head electing another tail wag.

"My, this is impressive." Port says fascinated by the lack of aggression being displayed by Shadow.

"Put your hand in front of him." I instruct. Port does as I ask. "Shadow, shake." I order, in which my pet responds by placing his right paw on Port's outstretched hand.

"This is remarkable. He displays such intelligence not seen in normal Grimm. And he is capable of displaying emotion." Port commends.

"Yeah. Teaching him basic commands was surprisingly simple. The hard part was getting him to take a bath." I laugh.

"It's clear he listens to you quite well. How did you manage to tame him?" Ozpin asks. I tell them the story I told Ruby at the beginning of Beacon.

"Now that is a tale to rival one of my own." Port laughs.

"Well it was certainly enlightening. However the other professor's and I must discuss what we think is the best course of action before anything else. You will remain here while we talk on the cliff." Ozpin instructs.

"Understood." With that the four staff members return to higher ground, leaving me alone with Shadow. He gives off a faint whine. "It's okay. No matter what, I won't let them hurt you."

* * *

_Beacon Cliffside…_

* * *

"Professor Ozpin. Are you seriously considering letting that creature live?" Glynda asks the headmaster.

"I don't know. This is a most unique situation we have found ourselves in. What are your thoughts on this Glynda?" Ozpin asks.

"I don't like it. There is danger that the creature may revert to a more aggressive nature, a risk I do not wish to take." The platinum blonde answers.

"You would rather destroy it even after experiencing firsthand how it behaves?" Port interjects. "This kind of higher intelligence has never been documented in even the oldest Grimm. There is much we could learn from this if we allow it to live. Shadow acts like a well-trained dog, Goodwitch, not a killer."

"Quite right. While the fact remains that it could indeed prove dangerous, we should not be so hasty to punish the creature for crimes it has not committed. After all it _is _one Beowolf. If anything were to happen we could most assuredly handle it without problem. Perhaps it could even prove to be a most valuable ally." Oobleck argues, agreeing with his mustached colleague.

"Very well then." Goodwitch sighs. "But I will not allow for Mister Wolfblade's actions to go unpunished."

"Yes, the boy must obey our rules. Rules are meant to be followed." Oobleck agrees.

"Then we are in agreement?" Ozpin questions, the other professors nodding. Reaching their decision, they make their way back to the forest.

* * *

_Ace…_

* * *

I see the professors returning to rejoin me near the forest. I step in front of Shadow to shield him.

"Mister Wolfblade. After a quick discussion with each other and much consideration, the professors and I have decided… To grant mercy towards Shadow. He may stay." Ozpin smiles.

_'__Yes! I'm not going to lose him!'_ "Thank you professors. Really."

"However, we cannot over look your actions." My smile drops.

"You're… Kicking me out of Beacon?" I ask.

"Rest assured your place here at Beacon is safe for the time being. Your friends would most likely miss their leader. But you have broken the rules and that cannot go unpunished." Ozpin explains.

"Yes sir." I say with relief that I get to stay, but worry as to what form of punishment I must endure. "What would you have me do?" I ask. Ozpin smiles.

"You are to prepare a report on the Theory of Higher Intelligence in Grimm. You will work on this throughout your first year alongside Professor Port and Shadow. At least twenty pages, double sided. That will hopefully teach you not to break curfew and transport unusual cargo without permission." He smirks.

"That's it? I ask in disbelief.

"That's it." Ozpin confirms. "And no more nightly visits to the forest. One of the professors will accompany you after class hours when you wish to visit Shadow."

"Yes Professor Ozpin."

"Very good. Classes will be starting soon. Better meet up with your friends. They might get worried."

"Of course professor Ozpin. Shadow, fade." I command. Shadow retreats back into the depths of the forest. "Thank you again professors. I'll see you in class!" I shout back as I run up the cliff.

_'__Oh of all the ways this could have turned out, this is by far the best! That report might suck a little, but it's totally worth it!'_

I find my team waiting in the hall. They had already got themselves ready for class.

"There you are! Where have you been?" Matt asks excited to see me.

"Just talking with the professors." I smile meekly.

"What about? I know that look Ace. What happened?" Matt asks concerned.

"They… found Shadow." Matt and the other's freeze.

"What!? What happened? Is he okay? They didn't… you know…"

"Calm down Matt. They spared him. It took some convincing but they let him live."

"Oh thank Dust. I know how much he means to you." Matt sighs in relief.

"I'm guessing they figured out you were using your semblance to sneak out too." Dez states.

"Yeah they did."

"And I'm willing to wager that they gave you some form of punishment." Zweii adds. "So what is it? Detention, cleaning the school?"

"I have a twenty page report added to my work load." I sigh.

"Ouch." Matt says covering his face.

"A small price to pay really. I could have been expelled so I prefer the alternative."

"Well we should get to class. The sooner we go, the sooner they will end and you can start working on that assignment." Dez mocks.

"Thanks." I deadpan. "Let's go."

* * *

_Later that night…_

* * *

"Wake up." A voice calls.

I open my eyes and find myself in that weird dream state once more. The white orb also makes a return.

"Okay this is freaky." I mutter. I look towards the white flame. "Are you the one talking to me?"

"Yes." The voice says emanating from the small orb. "There isn't much time."

"Huh?"

The white orb expands like before and I wake up in my bed with a gasp, sitting upright, sweating. Unnerved.

_'__What's going on?'_


	14. Chapter 13

**Love in the Air: The Smell of Steel and Roses**

Another glorious Saturday was upon us. My team and I sat in the cafeteria eating and talking with our friends as we do every morning. Ruby and her team were in the line getting food while Nora was going on about another weird and wild dream of hers, with minor assistance from Ren. But I wasn't paying attention. I was having thoughts about my own dreams.

These dreams aren't normal. No matter how hard I try to ignore them, they keep resurfacing in my mind. They always start the same. I wake up alone in a dark void. The only other presence there is that white flame. What's even weirder is that _she_ speaks to me. But just as soon as they begin they end, and I wake up feeling disoriented. Nothing about them makes any sense.

"Ace? Ace! Remnant to Ace!" Matt shouts, annoyed for some reason.

"Huh? Oh sorry. What's up?" I ask shaking my head clear of those annoying thoughts.

"You've been staring at your food for like ten minutes now. It was freaking me out." Matt says.

"Yeah, and you missed the best part of my dream!" Nora pouts.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to ignore you guys." I apologize. Nora was still frowning despite the apology.

"Nora, I'm sure Ace didn't mean to upset you. I suspect he had something else weighing on his mind." Ren says, reasoning with his hyperactive partner.

"Okey-dokey." Nora chirps with a renewed smile.

"Is something troubling you Ace?" Pyrrha asks. "You know you can talk to us if you need to." She says with a smile.

"Thanks Pyrrha, but it's probably nothing to be concerned about." I reply, but at this point I don't know if I'm trying to convince them or myself. I don't want to tell them I'm being afflicted by unusual dreams; lest I wish them to start thinking I'm going insane.

Pyrrha opens her mouth to say something, but is interrupted when we hear Ruby approaching with her team.

"Please Yang? Pleasepleasepleaseplease…" She whines to her sister.

"Sorry Ruby, I've got training with Blake later to work on our teamwork. I can't go." The blonde replies simply.

"Aww." Ruby groans. "What about you Weiss?" The red and black clad leader asks her partner.

"I would, but I've got some studying to take care of for our next exam. Something you should also be preparing for." The heiress says flatly, but without her frigid edge.

"Ugh! I was going to study after!" Ruby practically screams. "I can't believe my own team is abandoning me!"

"Don't be so dramatic." Blake says in her usual calm tone.

"What's going on with Ruby?" Jaune asks.

"Ruby wants to go to Vale to pick up some ammo for Crescent Rose." Yang says sitting down with her food.

"Yeah and my team won't come with me." Ruby pouts. "Good thing I know I can count on my _other_ friends." Ruby says smiling, looking at Jaune and his team.

"Well we… Uh… Sorta…" The blonde knight babbles.

"Sorry Ruby, but Nora requested we have a movie day with pancakes today." Pyrrha says apologetically.

"What!? This is unbelievable!" Ruby shouts.

"I'll go." I say earning looks from the others. "I need to pick up some Dust anyway." I have an idea for augmenting my weapons I've been wanting to test. And maybe this trip will help keep my mind off the dreams.

Ruby perks up, semblancing over and side hugging me.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best!" She shouts rapidly. Her sudden contact makes me blush slightly.

"You guys wanna come?" I ask my team.

"Nah. Me, Dez, and Zweii are going to play that new shooter my mom sent over." Matt says.

"Alright. You guys have fun with that. You ready to go Ruby?"

"Yep! Let's go!" She cheers. I smile at her excitement.

"Lead the way."

* * *

We board the airship and take our seats. Shortly after, the airship ascends and we depart for Vale City.

"So, what's new with you and your team?" I ask Ruby, making conversation.

"Well, I'm training really hard to improve my skills and I study a lot more with Weiss to become a much better leader, just like I promised." She says smiling.

"That's good. How is Weiss by the way?"

"She's a lot more open then when we first met. She can still be a bit cold sometimes but she's trying really hard to be a good friend. She told me she has a talk with you not to long ago, and that you helped her figure out a few things."

"Oh did she now?" I say smiling.

"Yep. She was really upset that day and you helped her blow off some steam. I was surprised you got her to talk to you. Whatever you told her really helped change her."

"You know I couldn't have done it without you." I tell her.

"Me? But I didn't do anything. I _couldn't _do anything." She says frowning.

"That's not true in the slightest. You did the most important thing without even knowing it. You kept trying to get to know her and be her friend and treat her like any other normal person, and in doing so you slowly chipped away at her icy heart. You showed her more patience and compassion than anyone else ever could. In the end it was your words, not mine, that allowed me to break through to the friendly Weiss you saw deep inside. You are her very best friend Ruby. So never believe that you never did her any favors."

"I really did that much?" She asks, a bit taken aback from what I told her.

"Absolutely. Ask Weiss yourself when we get back."

"Alright." She says with returned smile. "So how about you? How are things going for you and your team?" She asks returning my question.

"Pretty good actually. We won that match against JNPR so that's something."

She laughs remembering the match from a couple days ago.

"You fought Pyrrha with the flag! That was so cool, and she was so surprised!" She says excitedly.

"Well she wanted the flag, so I gave it to her." I joke making us both laugh.

The airship begins to descend at the Vale City landing pad. We step off the airship and begin walking with Ruby continuing to lead the way. As we walked I could see people staring at us. More specifically me. Some pointed and a few shot nasty looks, others I could hear whispering. I've received this treatment before. I look forward and ignore the crowds.

"So, know any good Dust shops around here?" I ask.

"I think I know a pretty good one." She beams proudly.

"So what kind of sniper rounds do you buy for Crescent Rose?"

"I don't really buy ammo; I buy casings and powders to make them myself." She replies.

"Wow. A do it yourself job. That's how you know they're good."

"Only the best for my sweetheart!" Ruby says pulling out her folded Sniper-Scythe and cuddling it. She really does love weapons.

We walk up to a small shop with _From Dust Till Dawn_ displayed in the window as its title.

"This is the shop I was in when Torchwick attacked with his henchmen." Ruby says.

"And where Goodwitch showed up and scolded you." I add.

"Hey! How'd you know that?"

"Yang." I answer simply.

"Big mouth." Ruby pouts.

_'__Dust, even when she pouts she's adorable… Wait, what did I just think?'_ I shake my head to dispel the thought.

We walk in the shop and find a balding man behind the counter. He smiles when he sees Ruby walk up.

"Ruby! It's so good to see you again. How are things going at Beacon?" He asks.

"Great! I'm team leader and I have a lot of cool new friends. Speaking of which, this is Ace." She says motioning to me.

"Hello." I greet politely.

"Ah, well any friend of Ruby's is most welcome here. What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you here again?" He asks.

"I need some casings and powder for Crescent Rose. I kinda ran out." She answers.

"Lucky you I just got a fresh shipment. Unfortunately, due to all the recent attacks on Dust shops we've been forced to raise our prices. I hate to make you pay more, especially after what you did for me." He sighs.

"I understand. How much do I owe you?" Ruby asks.

"It will be fifteen lien." He says as he pulls out Ruby's usual supplies.

"Wow. That's five lien more than usual." Ruby says pulling out her money and handing it to him. "Here you go."

"Do you also need something?" He asks me.

"Yes actually. Two crystals, Shock, cut."

"That will be twenty lien please." He says as he picks out the Dust from the display case.

"Sure, here." I say producing two tens.

"Will that be all?" The man asks putting our items in bags.

"Yep. Thank you." Ruby chirps.

"You're welcome. Come back any time you two." He says waving as we leave the shop.

We don't make it far from the shop when we are stopped by a random guy. A teenager outfitted in civilian clothes. Definitely not a Grimm slayer, though he was quite bulked up with muscle.

"Hey there cutie." He says in a cocky tone to Ruby. "Why don't you come hang out with me? I could show you a fun time." He says grinning.

"Eww, get away from me." Ruby shrieks.

"You heard the lady. Get out of our way and leave us be." I say.

"You be quite! Stay out of this freak." He spat, his words cutting deep.

"Leave him alone! I said no, now go away you creep!" Ruby shouts angrily.

"Come on let's ditch this loser and have some fun." He says clearly miffed but still wearing that smug grin.

"She said no, now leave." I almost yell.

"I said be QUIET!" He roars, punching me in the side of the head and knocking me to the floor. My check stings a little, since I didn't ready my aura in time. "Freaking monster." He says.

I get back up and dust myself off. "This is your last warning. Leave or we will get the cops to make you leave." I practically growl. This guy was testing my patience.

"You just don't know when to SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" He yells pulling back for another punch. Before his fist reaches half way to me I cloak myself briefly, confusing him, and reappear at his side grabbing his arm and bending it behind his back. I plant my foot on the back of his torso and push him down into a very uncomfortable kneeling position. He struggles to break free but I keep my hold on him.

"Argh, let me go!" He groans. I ignore his request.

"Now, you said some hurtful things a while ago that I'm willing to forget, and if you value your arm you will do what I say." I command.

"Screw you." He mutters. I respond by pushing down with my foot, making him even more uncomfortable. "Okay, Okay fine."

"Good, now you apologize to this young girl for wasting her time with your atrocious behavior."

"Sorry." He mumbles. I twist his arm a little more.

"Louder and like you mean it." I order.

"I'm very sorry for acting that way to you. I won't ever do it again I promise. Please let me go." He begs. I let his arm go and kick him forward. He gets up with fear in his eyes.

"Thank you very much." I say dryly. "For the record, I've been called far worse by people far more threatening then you. Now get lost."

He runs off holding his sore arm without looking back once.

"Ace, are you okay?" Ruby asks touching my check. The feel of her small, soft fingers brushes against my skin. If my face wasn't already warm from the punch it was definitely blazing now. Why am I feeling this way?

"I'm fine. Yang and Matt punch way harder even with my aura active. I'm sorry you had to see me like that." I say turning my head away.

"Are you kidding? That guy was asking for it! You let him off easy." She says smiling.

"Thanks, but still…" I say frowning.

"He called you those horrible things! And you only did it to keep him away from me. Don't worry about it."

A slight silence falls between us. Ruby tries to speak when she is interrupted by the growling of her own stomach. She blushes slightly. "Heh, sorry. Guess I'm a little hungry."

"Well then how about we get something to eat?" I suggest. "I didn't really touch my breakfast this morning. I think I saw a bakery around here somewhere."

"Ooh! We could get some cookies!" She cheers.

"Sounds like fun." I smile.

We walk around until we find the small bakery I saw earlier. The name _The Crumbling Moon_ was displayed on a wooden sign above the doorway. A bell rings as we open the door, signaling the owner that customers had arrived. An elderly woman, in the process of sweeping the floor, turned to greet us.

"Welcome to my shop. How are you two youngins doing today?" She asked sweetly. A much better reception then most others today.

"Fine Ma'am. We were hoping to purchase some goods here. Got anything sweet?" I ask.

Oh ho ho, I think I have plenty around here that would satisfy your tastes. Have a look around; my grandson will help when you find something you like."

"Thank you." Ruby says.

The store did indeed have some great looking foods. Breads of many kinds were neatly displayed on shelves. There were also small cakes and plenty of cookies. If I know Ruby she's going to want…

"Chocolate chip cookies!" She cheers as she finds a box with at least a dozen perfectly baked cookies. "I want these."

Yep. Classic Ruby.

I spot some chocolate chip and banana muffins for sale. I wouldn't mind grabbing a couple of those. I pick out two big ones and we walk to the counter where the woman's grandson was waiting.

"Hi. My names Jorge. Did you find everything satisfactory?" He asks politely.

"Nice to meet you Jorge. Everything looked wonderful. My names Ace and this is Ruby." I greet, introducing ourselves.

"That's nice to hear. We like it when customers appreciate our work. I see you two have weapons. Are you Hunters in training?" He asks.

"You got it. We're from Beacon." Ruby explains.

"Beacon. You two must be very talented to get into there, and very brave to fight those creatures."

"Someone has to do it. We can't all have the luxury of making baked goods for a living." I say with a smile.

"Very true. People like you do us all a great service. Now then, did you find some things you would like?"

"I'll take these." I say putting the muffins on the counter.

"Good choice. That will be four lien please."

I hand him the money and Ruby put's up her box of cookies.

"Cookie lover I see. That will be six lien." He says.

Ruby reaches for her money but tenses for some reason. She frantically checks herself for her cash.

"Oh no. I must have spent it all when I bought my supplies. Sorry but I can't pay for these." She sighs.

"Here, let me pay for those." I say pulling out some extra lien.

"Ace, that's your money." Ruby says shocked. "I can't make you do that. I'll just go put it back."

"But I want to. Just think of it as a thank you for being a great friend." I say handing Jorge the money.

"Aww. Such a gentleman." The elderly woman says. "He's definitely a keeper." She says to Ruby, laughing. "You two make such a cute couple."

"C-Couple?" We stutter. Both our faces turn almost as red as Ruby's cape at the implied suggestion.

"Grandmother!" Jorge scolds. "I'm sorry about that. Grandmother tends to speak without thinking sometimes."

"Let's just eat our food. We can sit at that table." I say to Ruby, pointing out a place to sit.

"Okay." Ruby replies.

"Jorge," His grandmother calls. "You've been working hard. Why don't you take a break?" She suggests.

"Alright Grandmother." He says grabbing a sweet roll to snack on. "Mind if I sit with you two?" He asks us.

"Not at all." I answer

The three of us make ourselves comfortable at the table and begin eating. Ruby quickly inhales four cookies in literally a second. Guess she's fast at everything. I wonder if her Semblance runs on sugar. It would explain how she doesn't get sick from eating so much of it.

I take a bite out of my muffin. I can taste the sweet chocolate mixed with the fruit. They blend wonderfully in my mouth. These have got to be some of the finest baked goods in Vale.

Jorge silently consumes his roll. Ruby has cleaned out all but four of her cookies already. She stops and a look of worry forms on her face.

"Ace? When you were protecting me from that guy, you said that you've been called worse things than what he called you. Was that true?" She asks, concerned about what answer she may receive.

"It's true." I say almost emotionlessly. "That guy wasn't the first and he probably won't be the last." I say before taking another bite from my food.

"I don't mean to be nosey, but what exactly happened?" Jorge asks.

"Some jerk tried hitting on me, and when Ace stepped in to stop him he punched him and called him a monster." Ruby answers.

"That's terrible!" Jorge exclaims. "What would possess someone like him to do such awful things?"

"Like I told Ruby, my armor seems to draw a lot of unfriendly attention."

"Well why not wear something else?" Jorge suggests.

"Because I don't feel that I need to wear something else just to prove I'm not a monster. All of the people whose opinions matter don't have a problem seeing me for who I really am through the armor. Besides it's sentimental to me."

"Maybe but it would probably help avoid being called such nasty things." Jorge says.

"It doesn't matter. I've been degraded long before I donned this armor. Some people are just naturally cruel." I say finishing my first muffin.

"Yeah but-" Ruby starts.

"HELP ME!" We hear someone scream nearby. We all get up and run out the shop. A couple of blocks down we turn into an alley where three guys are ganging up on a small boy bear Fanus.

"Quit yelling! No one is going to help a worthless piece of trash like you." One of the bullies sneers.

"Yeah! You Fanus are nothing but filthy lesser beings that deserve to be exterminated!" A second one adds.

"We're just doing the world a favor by making one less Fanus in this city." The larger one finishes. Probably their leader.

The whole situation reminds me of that fateful day where I was in this boys place. With no one to protect me. Until Matt showed up. I will not allow them to put him in the same position I faced.

"Leave him alone!" I shout drawing the attackers' attention to me.

"And why would we do that?" The leader asks sarcastically.

"Because if you don't, I'll make you stop." I threaten.

"Yeah! You have no right treating him like that!" Ruby yells.

"He's nothing but Fanus trash! We have every right!" The leader shouts. "But if you're ready to take a beating for him then we will gladly include punishing you Fanus lovers too. Get them!" He commands. All three of them charge at us.

Ruby unhooks Crescent Rose and unfolds the massive scythe in front of her. She grabs a nearby trash can with the blade and hurls it at one of the attackers, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him over.

We both run up to the remaining two and engage them in combat. Ruby sped past the other lackey and hit him in the back with the blunt end of her scythe knocking him out.

The leader threw punch after punch at me but he didn't land any of them. I kneel down to avoid a right hook and uppercut him in the jaw sending him to the ground.

Ruby and I walk up to the frightened Fanus boy to see if they had harmed him. We step over the unconscious forms of his would be attackers. Suddenly the leader rises up behind us and yells as he tries to hit us from behind.

With a sudden clang, he drops back down to the ground for good this time. Behind him was Jorge wielding a trash can lid that he used to bash him upside the head.

"Nice work for a baker." I say smiling.

"I'm not completely defenseless." He retorts.

We get down to eye level of the boy, but he flinches.

"Don't worry. They won't bother you anymore. We won't hurt you either." I say trying to calm him down.

"T-Thank You." He manages to get out.

"Hey don't worry about it. What they were doing was wrong. We were happy to help right Ace?" Ruby says smiling. I nod.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Teddy." He answers shyly.

"Well it's nice to meet you Teddy. I'm Ace and this is Ruby and Jorge."

"Hello." Jorge says.

"Where's your parents Teddy. It's dangerous to be in the city alone." I ask.

"My parents are gone." He says starting to tear up. "I'm all alone." He continues sniffing.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Where do you live?"

"On the street. I've been here for at least six months. I have no home to go to."

"Well that certainly won't do." Jorge says. "Come with me. My Grandmother has a shop close by. We can get you cleaned up a little and get some food in you. You look like you could use some."

"Really?" Teddy asks, rubbing tears out of his eyes.

"Of course. Grandmother won't mind." Jorge says helping Teddy up.

"Here. Take this." I say offering him my last muffin. "Go ahead. I'm not that hungry. It's really good."

He accepts it and takes a small bite out of it. His small furry ears perk up and he smiles a little.

"It is good. Thank you." He says before continuing eating.

We walk back to the bakery and are greeted by Jorge's grandmother.

"There you are." She says relieved. "You three took off in such a hurry." She stops when she notices Teddy. "Oh, whose your cute little friend?" She asks.

"Grandmother, this is Teddy. We found him being attacked by some people in an alley."

"Oh you poor dear. I assume it has something to do with those cute little ears on the top of your head." He nods sadly.

"Well let's get you cleaned up before we get you back to your family." We all cringe when she mentions family.

"Actually, Teddy has no family. He's been living on the streets for almost half a year now." Jorge explains. His grandmother frowns briefly but then smiles.

"Well we can't have that now can we? You are more than welcome to stay here with us."

"Grandmother! Are you sure?" Jorge asks, shocked at the suggestion. Teddy looked equally surprised.

"I'm as sure as the year is long. We have plenty of food and space and I could always use some extra help around the shop. It would be no problem at all." She turns to face Teddy. "So how about it? Would you like to stay here with us?" She asks sweetly.

"I-I would like that." He says, holding back tears of happiness. "Thank you Ma'am."

"Ha ha ha. Call me Grandmother. We're your family now."

He walks up and hugs her tightly. Jorge rubs his hair between his ears smiling.

Both me and Ruby smile as we turn to leave.

"Take care now Teddy." Ruby says happily.

"Do come visit us again sometime." Jorge's grandmother calls.

"We will." Ruby answers before the door closes behind us.

We walk back to the landing pad and get on the next airship to Beacon.

"I'm so glad Teddy gets to live with Jorge and his Grandmother. He'll be much happier now." Ruby says as we take our seats.

"I agree. If only it were so easy to help others like him. But I think we can feel good knowing we helped give him a happy new beginning."

* * *

A few minutes later we arrive back at Beacon. We find JNPR walking down the hall talking about the movies they watched.

"I'm just saying Nora. Pacific Grimm has nothing on Grimmzilla." Jaune says calmly.

"But those robots were so cool. And the story was way better!" Nora exclaims.

"I thought they were both good." Pyrrha says calmly. Ren nods in agreement.

"Hey guys. How was movie night?" I ask.

"Great! We had lots of yummy pancakes and the movies were awesome." Nora replies happily.

"Sounds like it." Ruby smiles. She then turns to me. "Thanks for coming with me. It was fun." Ruby says.

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow." I say as I walk to my dorm room.

I walk in and find the rest of my team still shooting it out.

"Stop camping Matt!" Dez says annoyed as his character takes a bullet to the brain.

"Never!" Matt laughs maniacally before his character was taken out by a well-aimed RPG to the face. He turns and glares at Zweii. "How do you keep doing that!" Matt yells.

"Skill." Zweii replies. The game ends with Zweii in first and Dez and Matt tied for second.

"Hey guys. How was the game?" I ask.

"Great aside from the fact Matt kept camping and Dez kept running around with a sniper and crossbow." Zweii answers.

"You kept blowing us up with explosives." Dez argues.

"Well at least I didn't have to worry about Ace knifing us." Matt scoffs.

"Hush now. Be glad I'm tired from today or I would hop on and stab you in the face." I taunt.

"We were about to turn in for the day anyway." Matt responds.

They turn of the system and we get into our beds.

"Good night everybody." I say turning off the lights.

"Good night." The others say before drifting to sleep.

As I lay in the bed I can't help but think about today, and Ruby. How I blushed at her very touch. How she constantly brought a smile to my face. Why can't I stop thinking about her? I felt strange around her a lot today. I feel my heart beat against my chest. My heart aches at the thoughts of us enjoying the day together. But it's a different kind of ache from what I've felt before. Not sorrow or hurt. Could it be… Love? Have I found feelings for the adorable young huntress? Could I have fallen for Ruby Rose?

I sigh and drift to sleep. I don't dream of the weird light tonight. I dream of me and Ruby. Together.

* * *

**A/N: ... Yep. I went there. Plenty of easter eggs in this chapter. Wonder if you can find them. Just A note, I actually wasn't going to pair those two together, but as I got more ideas, well it sort of just became a thing. Once again I'm doing a lot of firsts when it comes to writing so romance is the next thing on my list. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did or want to guess the easter eggs, leave a review or shoot me a message. Until next time.**


	15. Chapter 14

**Startling Revelations: The Hunt for Blake**

* * *

I had awoken from my sleep, well rested for the seventh time this week. A full week has passed since my trip to the city with Ruby, and the haunting dreams have yet to return. All I can seem to dream about is Ruby. A pleasant change to be assured, especially since I realized I have feelings for the young reaper. But I have to wonder, could she even have feelings for me? I don't think she sees me as anything other than a friend. I sigh as I think of the impossibility of a relationship.

Professor Goodwitch had announced that the Vytal festival would be coming up and it would be hosting a tournament for the students to compete in. Students from the other kingdoms would be visiting to participate and test their skills against each other. My whole team as well as JNPR and RWBY are very excited to enter. Why shouldn't we be? It's not often we get such a chance to demonstrate our skills.

Weiss had insisted that they should go greet the arriving students today. They arrived at the docks more than an hour ago. She said she wanted to greet them as a representative of Beacon, but I'm not so sure that's the reason she so adamantly dragged her team to the docks on our day off from classes.

My team just decided to sit back and relax back at the dorm. After all the tests and training this week, we all agreed to play a few games together and just enjoy ourselves. Of course I set aside time to play with Shadow.

It is getting late and we decide to turn in for the night. I can here bickering in the hallway. It sounds like RWBY is back, but what are they arguing about now? The fighting continues for a while and then everything goes quiet. I hear someone running out of the room and down the hall. Something is wrong, I can feel it. I walk out of the room and find Ruby, Weiss, and Yang staring down the hallway with shocked expressions, but Blake is nowhere to be seen.

"What's going on out here? Where's Blake?" I ask Ruby.

"She… She ran away." Ruby said downcast.

"Ran away? Why? What happened?"

"Weiss and Blake got into an argument about Fanus and the White Fang in the city, and they wouldn't stop arguing all the way back, and Blake snapped and accidentally told us she is a Fanus and White Fang member, and then she just left." Ruby explained on the verge of tears. Weiss just turned away from the rest of us.

"Blake is a Fanus?" I hear Jaune ask from his room. We turn to see JNPR listening in.

"Appears so." Yang replies.

"We have to go find her! She could get hurt or…" Ruby says frantically.

"Whoa, hold on Ruby. I know you're worried about Blake but we'll never find her right now. It's too late to go looking for her. Besides tensions are too high, it won't do anyone any good if some of us are at each other's throats. What you need to do is get some rest, Give her till tomorrow night to return, and if she doesn't and we will all start looking in the morning. She'll be fine until then." I reassure her.

"Okay." She sighs.

With that we all return to our rooms for the night. My team was sat on their beds waiting for my return.

"So what was that about?" Matt asks.

"Blake has run away. Ruby is devastated. We're going to look for her if she doesn't come back tomorrow as soon as the sun rises." I answer.

"Why would Blake run?" Zweii asks.

"Because she's a Fanus. She's been trying to hide it to protect herself but now her secrets out. She's afraid of what her team will think of her so she ran."

"Well that would explain her eagerness to flee. Fanus aren't exactly treated as equals. Poor girl is probably terrified." Dez says.

"Well when we find her, we're going to make sure she knows that she doesn't have to be afraid. We're her friends no matter what she is." Zweii says. I smile at his determination.

"Get some sleep guys. I can tell this is going to be a long weekend." I tell my team.

We all go to sleep and prepare for tomorrow.

* * *

We wake up as the sun rises to see if Blake had returned to Beacon on her own. I meet Ruby just as she steps foot outside of her room. She doesn't look like she slept very well. No doubt she was worrying about Blake. She simply looks me in the eyes and shakes her head. Enough to tell me Blake was still missing.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. Maybe she's somewhere else in the school." I say trying to boost her spirits. It does little.

We begin walking around the school, checking the most likely places the Blake would be. The Library was first on the list. We walk up to the Counter and ask if they had seen Blake. As much as she loves reading, she would be hard to miss if she came to the Library. She's there best customer so to speak. Unfortunately they hadn't seen her at all so far. We look around just in case. She was indeed nowhere to be found amongst the shelves of books.

"I hope she's okay." Ruby sighs.

"I told you it's going to be okay. We will find her." I reassure her.

"I hope you're right. I don't want to lose her. She's still my friend."

"We're not losing anyone. She'll turn up. Now come on, we have a lot of ground to cover."

We leave the Library and look everywhere we possibly can. The Cafeteria, the training room, everywhere. But there is no sign of her. We recheck the school throughout the day but our efforts remain in vain. Night falls and we return to our rooms to sleep. Tomorrow we search the city.

* * *

"Wake up."

I get up and find myself back in another of those accursed dreams.

"You again? Why are you here, what do you want from me?" I ask the white orb.

"Are you displeased to see me?" The orb asks.

"A little annoyed yes. You come and go and tell me nothing and you expect me to be happy to see you again? Wait, what am I doing? You're not real. This is just a dream."

"I understand you're displeasure but I am far from a figment of your dream scape."

"Well whatever you are, I would appreciate it if you told me what you want."

"I only bring advice if you will listen." The orb states. "The Fanus you know as Blake, she hides many secrets. Now her greatest ones have been revealed. She is scared and has chosen to run. But you have many secrets as well, and one by one they are being revealed. What will you do when you can no longer keep your own secrets? Will you run and hide?"

"I… I don't know. What should I do?" I ask.

"Keep your friends close. Do not worry about their judgment." The voice answers. "You said yourself that those whose opinions matter accept you for who you are."

"I suppose your right. Thanks for the advice uh… Whoever you are. You still haven't told me who or what you are."

"All in good time. I must go now. We will speak again." The voice says before the orb expands.

* * *

I wake up for the second time as the sun rises. This time the nauseous feeling is minimal. I walk up to Matt and wake him. Zweii slowly rises on his own while I wake up Dez. We walk into the hall and find Team JNPR and the now Team RWY also leaving their rooms.

"Morning everyone. We all set to find our missing friend?" I ask.

"All set." Ruby says seriously.

"Good. We should split up to cover more of the city at once. JNPR, can you take the north and west side of the city?"

"Sure." Jaune replies.

"Alright. Zweii, you take Matt and Dez and check the east. I will go with Ruby, Yang, and Weiss to check the south."

"As you wish." Zweii replies.

"Great. Let's go find Blake."

We board the airship and soon land in the city. We immediately split up to comb the city. I walk with the remainder of team RWBY and we begin our search. Ruby and Yang yell Blake's name trying to call her, but Weiss remains silent.

"Weiss, you're not helping!" Ruby complains.

"You know who could help? The police." Weiss answers. The other two groan at her inappropriate suggestion.

"Weiss, that's hardly fair and you know it." I tell the young heiress.

"Well I'm sorry that a member of one of the most dangerous organizations in all of Remnant, that wants nothing more than to see us Schnees dead, was living in the same room as me!" She replies angrily.

"Weiss, if she was really bent on killing you, she would have done it months ago." Her expression softens slightly. "We need to find her so we can get the whole story before we pass judgment."

"He's right Weiss. I think we should hear her side before we jump to any conclusions." Yang agrees.

"And I think Weiss's hair looks wonderful today." A new voice adds from behind us.

"We all turn around to find a young girl with orange hair and a pink bow trailing us.

"Ah! Penny Where did you come from?" Ruby exclaims with at our new arrival.

"You know this girl Ruby?" I ask.

"Oh that's right. You two haven't met. Ace this is Penny. Penny meet Ace." Ruby says introducing us.

"Are you also a friend of Ruby's?" Penny asks.

"Yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you Penny."

"If you are a friend of Ruby's, and I am also her friend, does that mean we are also friends?" Penny asks in an admittedly creepy way. Yang and Weiss are mouthing 'No'. Why would they want me to avoid her? She seems nice enough.

"I guess by that logic, yes we can be friends." I answer.

"Sensational! I made another friend!" She cheers. Yang and Weiss just face palm. "So what are you guys doing here? She asks.

"We're looking for Blake. She's been missing since Friday." Ruby explains.

"Oh you mean the Fanus girl." Penny says.

"Wait how did you know that?" Ruby asks.

"Uh, the cat ears." Penny says as if it were the most obvious thing in all of Remnant.

"What cat ears? She wears a… Bow." Yang deflates. An awkward silence spreads around us.

"She does like tuna a lot." Ruby says blatantly.

"It was kind of odd she never took the thing off." I say in equal tone. Now that I think about it, it _is _the most obvious thing in Remnant.

"Don't worry Ruby. I won't rest until we've found your teammate." Penny proclaims holding on to Ruby's arms. Ruby tries to argue but stops when we notice that Weiss and Yang have snuck off.

"Now where did they run off to?" I wonder.

"Doesn't matter. We need to keep looking." Ruby states.

"Maybe Jorge knows something. We should go pay him a visit." I decide.

"Who's Jorge?" Penny asks.

"A really good friend. Come on." I reply.

We walk up to the Bakery and go inside. Jorge and his grandmother are working behind the counter. That's two people, now where is…

"ACE!" I hear a familiar voice call. Teddy comes running from one of the aisles of baked goods. He jumps and wraps me in a… Bear hug. I can't help but laugh at the irony.

"Teddy. It's good to see you again." I say returning the embrace.

"Hey, Ace! Ruby! What are you two doing back here so soon?" Jorge asks.

"Out on another date are we?" His grandmother chides.

"Ruby? Are you and Ace dating?" Penny asks with great interest.

"We're not dating!" We both shout. Jorge's grandmother just starts laughing hysterically while me and Ruby try to hide our faces.

"For the love of Remnant Grandmother, leave them alone." Jorge scolds. "Anyway, is there something you need? Got fresh cookies and muffins if you're interested."

"No snacks this time Jorge." Ruby pouts a little at the denial of sweets. "We're looking for one of Ruby's teammates. Girl, dresses in black, has a bow in her hair, amber eyes and black hair, goes by the name Blake. You haven't happened to see someone like that around here have you?"

"Hmmm, no one by that description has come by here. What's wrong?" Jorge asks.

"She got into a fight with another one of Ruby's teammates and now she's missing." I explain.

"She's been gone all weekend." Ruby states.

"Well I hate to repeat bad news but we haven't seen her. But if we do find out something we'll let you know." Jorge says.

"Alright well thanks anyway. We need to get going. It's getting late and we still have places to look." I say thanking him for his time.

"Good luck. I hope you find her soon." Jorge calls to us as we leave.

We wave as we take our leave.

"So who did Blake get into an argument with?" Penny asks.

"Weiss." Ruby answers.

"And she's mad at her?" Penny continues.

"Yes." Ruby replies simply.

"But isn't she Blake's friend?"

"Well that's kind of up in the air right now."

"But why?" Penny asks continuing her onslaught of questions.

"Because Blake may not be who we though she was." Ruby answers.

"Is she a man?" Penny gasps. Now there's a horrible thought.

"No no she's… I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly tell us much before she decided to run off." Ruby sighs.

"I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things." Penny says in a comforting tone.

"Me too…" Ruby agrees.

"Join the club." I add.

"There is a small organization for people with social issues? Penny asks. Ruby and I just stare at her.

"Oddly specific and detailed, but no Penny, it's just a figure of speech." I reply.

"Oh. Okay." Penny says smiling.

We continue searching as the sky darkens. Two days and we have no idea where she could be. This is beyond frustrating.

Suddenly we hear a loud explosion in the distance. We turn and see a large plume of smoke coming from behind a large building.

"Oh no." Ruby half whispers as she gazes at the sight.

"Sounds like trouble. We better get over there and check it out." I tell my two companions.

We scale the building to get a bird's eye view of the area. We see a couple of airships amongst a large supply of Schnee Dust containers. A few men with hoods were standing around, armed with machine guns. On closer inspection I could make out Grimm masks on their faces and a red wolf head on a three claw scratch mark on their backs. The symbol of the White Fang.

A person wearing a white coat and a bowlers hat, carrying a cane was in the middle of the group. He looks an awful lot like…

"Torchwick!" Ruby half shouts, half whispers.

"That's Torchwick? What's he doing here?" I ask.

"Probably trying to steal all of that Dust." Ruby deduces.

"Wait what's that over there?" I ask pointing at a black figure on the floor a few feet away from the master criminal. Torchwick aims his cane at the figure and fires a pyrotechnic round at it before it springs up and evades.

"It's Blake! And she's in trouble." Ruby answers.

Torchwick fires a volley of rounds at Blake as she evades his fire with ease, using her semblance to make brief copies of herself to dodge behind a crate.

Torchwick starts to follow but a muscular teenage boy with blond hair and a monkey tail, drops a banana peel on his head distracting him. He leaps from a crate and lands on Torchwick's face before somersaulting off and landing.

"Who's that guy?" I ask Ruby.

"I've never seen him before. But it looks like he's on our side." Ruby answers as we continue monitoring the fight.

More White Fang members jump from the airships and surround the blonde. He fends off a few with punches and kicks before revealing his weapon. A red and yellow Bo staff. He begins knocking them down one by one with great force. Enough so to make a shockwave when his staff strikes the ground.

He defeats the last White Fang Member before kicking him at Torchwick. The crook dodges and fires a shot at him which he easily deflects much like I did when I fought Zweii.

Blake steps in and joins the fight rushing Torchwick and using her Shadow clones to doge around while she strikes. Torchwick lands a punch on one of the clones leaving Blake unharmed. He quickly tracks the real Blake and bashes her with his cane.

Monkey boy tags in and splits his staff in half turning it into two nun chucks with shot gun barrels. I gotta admit I'm really starting to like his style. With lightning fast movements he swings his nun chucks at Torchwick while simultaneously firing rounds, which Torchwick blocked with minor trouble. Blake jumps back in and strikes Torchwick sending him across the ground.

The thief does not take this sitting down and fires at a suspended crate hovering over Blake and her friend's heads. It falls but they notice it in time to evade. Unfortunately Torchwick now has the boy at point blank range and is prepared to finish him.

Ruby steps up to the building side and pulls out Crescent Rose.

"Hey!" Ruby shouts at the criminal, drawing his attention.

"Well hello Red." He mockingly greets. "Isn't it past your bed time?"

Penny joins Ruby at the edge.

"Ruby, are these people your friends?" She questions.

"Penny, get back." Ruby warns before taking a direct shot in the chest by one of Torchwick's projectiles. She slides across the rooftop, injured but fine

Torchwick's maniacal laughter at her friends pain upsets Penny and she prepares to engage him.

"Penny Wait! Stop!" Ruby pleads, but Penny just smiles.

"Don't worry Ruby, I'm combat ready!" She declares as multiple swords spawn from her back. She leaps from the rooftop and lands safely on the ground. She immediately begins taking out even more White Fang members.

_'__This girl is interesting.'_ I think to myself. "Let her go. I've got you." I tell Ruby.

"Thanks." She smiles as I help her up. "Shouldn't we help her?" She asks.

"Let's just see what she can do." I tell her. We both resume watching the fight.

Penny takes out person after person with no trouble, using her multiple floating swords to attack and defend. She sends them all out in a rotating disc and bowls over a large group of White Fang at once. This girl can fight well.

Three more airships appear and open fire on Penny. Two more swords spawn and embed themselves in a wall behind her. They seem to be attached to her with a very thin wire, as she is pulled backwards to evade the ships gun fire.

Her other swords form a ring in front of her and begin charging an electric green sphere in front of her. The sphere fires a massive energy laser, slicing two of the ships in half, its passengers falling into the water below. The remains of the ships fly over us and crash behind.

"Now that was cool." I commend.

Penny fires two swords into the remaining airship and begins pulling it down like some oversized kite. That shouldn't even be possible!

"Whoa! How is she doing that?" Ruby asks in awe.

"I have no idea. Maybe it's her Semblance?" I suggest. Ruby just shrugs.

Torchwick figures out he's been beat and retreats to his Bullhead, as Penny sends the other one crashing and burning to the floor below. We can't do anything as we watch him make his getaway. I pull out my scroll to contact the others and tell them to return to the school. Ruby calls the cops to pick up the unconscious White Fang members.

"We should go see if Blake is okay." Ruby says.

"Go on ahead. She needs her leader right now." I say smiling at her. "I told you we'd find her. Now go."

She nods and hops down to Blake. I remain on the roof looking to where Torchwick's Bullhead was heading.

_'__We will find you Torchwick. Whatever you're planning, we're going to put an end to it.'_

The police arrive and start rounding up the beaten criminals that got left behind as Blake began explaining herself to Ruby. Weiss and Yang walk up to where Ruby, Penny, Blake and Monkey Boy are sitting.

"Weiss it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. She wears a bow and she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute." Ruby babbles to no avail.

Weiss walks up to Blake and does not look happy at all.

"Weiss I want you to know I am no longer associated with the White Fang. Back…" Blake starts before being cut off by Weiss.

_'__Come on Weiss…'_ I mentally plead.

"Stop! Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you?" She asks the Fanus girl. "Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in those twelve hours, I've decided…" She pauses.

_'__Moment of truth…"_

"I don't care!" Weiss says sharply, surprising everyone.

_'__Oh thank Dust."_

"You don't care?" Blake asks.

"You said you aren't one of them anymore right?" Weiss asks.

"No I haven't been since…"

"Ah buh buh buh. I don't want to hear it." Weiss interrupts. "All I want to know is that next time something this big comes up, you'll come to your teammates, and not some…" She pauses looking at the buff teenager. "Someone else." She finishes.

Blake wipes away a tear at her words.

"Of course." Blake replies happily.

I turn away looking back at the city.

"Everything worked out for the best it seems." I say to myself smiling.

I remember the voice in my dreams.

_"__What will you do when you can no longer keep your own secrets? Will you run and hide?"_

No.

"No more secrets. I can trust them. Tomorrow I tell them everything."

I start the walk back to Beacon. To my friends.

* * *

**A/N: And that's another chapter down. I know alot of it was just repeating scenes from the actual show but hey I felt it was important. So here it is just for you wonderful people, a chapter from me to celebrate Christmas with. I know it's not the Special but I felt I had to give something. Again I feel really bad that I couldn't do the Special on time. You people don't ask for anything yet I still feel obligated to have delivered it on time and I am truly sorry. :(**

**On a higher note I would just like to thank all of you out there that are reading and supporting my story, sending messages and reviews and all that good stuff. I love you all so very much. I want to wish you all out there a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And for those of you out there who don't celebrate Christmas, I sincerely hope you find something wonderful to celebrate at this time of year. :)**

**Once again thank you all!**

**-Ace**


	16. In Memorium

**It has come to pass that Monty Oum is no longer with us. This lose saddens not only me, but so many others to no end. In his short time he accomplished more than most of us could ever hope to. He gave so much to us with his work at Rooster Teeth and always working his "Monty Magic" to make every idea the best it could be. It is for this that we thank him. We thank him for his hard work and dedication for us, the Rooster Teeth Community, No, The Rooster Teeth Family. We thank him for inspiring us with his works and even pushing others to make works of our own with everything he gifted us. We thank him for the laughs, the tears, and love we shared in all that he did. It is in this time our thoughts should also turn to the wonderful family he left behind. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them in this tragic time. The future is uncertain for all of us, but together we should work to make it brighter, the way Monty did. We'll miss you our treasured friend. May you find peace knowing you touched so many of us in everything you did. Thank you and Good bye.**


	17. Chapter 15

**Blank Pages: A New Chapter Begins**

* * *

Near the courtyard I sit on a high tree branch, two stories upward, staring at the sight before me. I can see the top of the Emerald Forest and the blue sky above it, dotted with clouds. The scene is peaceful and after what we went through this past weekend, it certainly is appreciated.

Normally I wouldn't be able to enjoy this kind of view during the weekday due to classes, but our last one was canceled due to a matter that Port had to attend to immediately. Something about acquiring more Grimm for student practices.

As I lean back against the tree I pull out my scroll and open a file of family pictures. I keep them on my scroll to keep them close while I am away. My parents are probably working very hard at the forge right now. I hope they are doing alright. To say I don't get a little homesick every now and then would be a lie. I hope I get a chance to visit them soon.

I think about yesterday, as the events that transpired still shown clear in my head. Blake was exposed as a Faunus, and even more an Ex-member of the now corrupted White Fang. She was so scared, and she ran from us. But even for all that she is, everyone still accepted her. Even Weiss made a move to make amends with Blake.

I envy her. I wish for nothing more than to show who I really am to my friends. But at the same time, despite how everything worked out for Blake, I'm still terrified to do so. I'm a coward, and I feel horrible that even though she didn't want it to happen the way it did, Blake doesn't have to hide from her friends. But what about me?

Coming to Beacon may have been the best thing to happen to me in a long time. I've made so many wonderful friends, but I don't want to lose them. But I need to tell them. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest; my insecurities are getting the better of me. But I can't help it. I need a distraction.

As I stare back into the calming view of the Emerald Forest, I begin to calm down and relax. I decide I just need a little more time before I do anything, and lean back for a short rest. I cloak myself with my Semblance so I won't be disturbed. I learned early on how to maintain my camouflage even while resting. Invisible nap is the best nap ever, and since I don't exert any other energy while resting I can hold it for much longer. I close my eyes and drift to sleep.

* * *

Minutes passed and soon Blake and Weiss walk out to the courtyard, talking about class and training. But more importantly they were talking as friends that were really beginning to understand each other. Blake wanted to confess to Weiss all the wrong she had done while she was still a member of the White Fang, but Weiss had already told her that nothing about it mattered at this point. Despite not knowing what Blake had done, she was willing to give her a second chance and a clean slate.

Weiss still didn't know much about Blake, though she was trying to know her better. Her years of being led to believe it was okay to discriminate against the Faunus wasn't helping her. It was a hard thing for her to overcome her prejudices, but she would not become her Father. She was better than him, or at the least she tried to be. But now, her time at Beacon would give her ample time to deal with this problem, away from her families influence.

And what of the where about of the rest of Team RWBY and friends? Well, the sisters decided it would be best to give Weiss and Blake their time alone together, and instead of joining them, opted to spar in the training room for a while. Honestly it was good to get some time for some sisterly bonding again.

JNPR was spending their time studying for various classes, and the remainder of AZRE was just relaxing in the dorm room. Lacking the presence of his friend and leader, Matthew was a bit concerned as to why Ace didn't follow them back to the dorm. He just left without saying a word. But he also knew that even his Grimm clad friend needed time to himself occasionally.

As the monochrome duo conversed around the courtyard, Blake's carefully concealed ears twitched as they picked up on the sound of light breathing. Curious to find the source she stopped and looked around, scanning the surrounding area.

"Blake, why did we stop?" Weiss asked confused as to why her teammate had suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and began looking around in every which direction.

"I thought I heard something." The Faunus girl replied still searching for the source of the unusual noise. There weren't any other students around at this time, yet the noise had to be coming from somewhere.

Finally Blake managed to trace the noise to a nearby tree. It was coming from above, somewhere in the branches. She scaled the tree in a few seconds getting closer to her target, but when she thought she was close, she found nothing. The sound was indeed louder, but it seemed that it was coming from the tree itself.

She reaches forward to investigate the tree but her hand touches some invisible barrier just before making contact with the bark. The barrier shifted under her palm, and to her surprise something began to appear in front of her.

In a few seconds she saw that the invisible barrier was in reality a medium sized Death Stalker face plate, attached to a sleeping Ace.

"AHH!" Blake exclaimed, briefly startled by the boy's sudden appearance in front of her. Her shout startled the sleeping leader and he too cried out in shock. Before Ace could realize what was happening he feel out of the branch and landed face first on the brick walk way below.

"Ace!? Are you alright?" Weiss asked as the boy groaned in pain.

"Oh man. Does anyone have a painkiller? I think I just gave the walkway a massive headache." He muttered in his daze, slowly getting up on his feet, holding his aching head in his right palm.

Blake jumped down to check on her unintended scare victim. He apparently didn't have time to fully activate his aura to cushion his two story descent. She helps stabilize his disoriented stance.

"Blake? Weiss? What are you two doing out here? Shouldn't you be with the others?" Ace asks dazed and confused.

"We could ask you the same thing. What were you doing up in the tree?" Blake answers with a question of her own.

"I was thinking about things." He replied simply.

"Thinking? While up in a tree? Asleep?" Blake asked sarcastically.

"Yes, well they weren't exactly calming thoughts." He replies somberly. "Anyway, you still didn't answer _my_ question."

"We decided it would be beneficial for us to get to know each other more." Weiss states matter of factly.

"Call it a bonding session if you will." Blake adds.

"Well I'm glad that you two are moving forward as friends." He says with a smile.

Yes well, even though I told her multiple times not to worry about it, Blake still insists on telling me about her actions while in the White Fang." Weiss says shooting a glance at Blake, the Faunus turning away slightly.

"Hmm, maybe it would be best if you _did_ allow her. She wouldn't want to tell you if it wasn't bothering her." Ace said contemplating the situation.

Weiss looked at her teammate for a while and finally caved in. "Fine." she says with a sigh. "What do you need to tell me?" Weiss asked.

"Well, it's concerning my last job with the White Fang. Do you remember the Schnee Freighter that was hijacked in Forever Fall?" Blake asks nervously.

"Hmph, how can I forget?" Weiss said annoyed. "Father was absolutely livid about all the Dust that was lost that day. Why do you ask?"

"Because I was one of the ones responsible for its theft." Blake said ashamedly.

"Wait, that was you? You're telling me that you took down all the defense drones aboard the train, including the Spider Drone?" Weiss asked. She was visibly irritated but not as close to anger as she probably would have been had it not for her trying to make amends with the Ex-White Fang operative.

"Not alone no but yes. I'm sorry for that." Blake answered. "My old partner and I were in charge of the whole operation. He wanted to steal it without drawing a lot of attention, so it was just the two of us. Unfortunately we activated the defenses when we entered. After dispatching the many drones my partner wished to set charges to the train. When I reminded him of the crew members it made no difference to him whether anyone was hurt or not."

"I don't understand. All of the crew members aboard what was left of the train were present and accounted for. There weren't any injuries either. If your partner was so intent on destroying them, then why didn't he?" Weiss asked.

"Before he could set the charges, I made the decision to cut off the cargo from the passengers. Weiss he was willing to kill them without thinking twice. I have done many things while in the White Fang, most of which I regret every day. But I never aimed to take anyone's life. I saw what the White Fang had become, what my partner became. Blood thirsty monsters. It was then and there that I decided I no longer wanted any part of them. So when I severed the train, I also broke my ties with them." Blake finished.

"So why are you telling me this?" came the heiress' next question.

"I wanted you to know exactly why I left in the first place. I did not want to become the same way as my old partner. I just hope you can forgive me for all the trouble I caused you and your family."

"Blake, as previously stated, I already forgave you. But…" The ivory haired girl paused. "I will thank you. You saved many lives that day. Dust is replaceable, those people's lives are not. You did a great thing, doing what you did." Weiss said with a smile.

"Thank you Weiss. For everything." Blake said, with her own, small grin.

The two girls' attention then turned to Ace.

"Thank you for helping me get this off my mind Ace." Blake said to the young smith.

"Hey, don't mention it. It was important for both of you." He replied.

It was then Weiss and Blake remembered the leader's depressed attitude when he revealed his thoughts were also troubling him.

"Ace, there's something bothering you isn't there?" Weiss asked him with concern. It was her turn to try to help him.

"Was I really that obvious?" He asked in a mock tone.

"Does this have anything to do with what we talked about before?" Weiss asked him. Blake being out of the know with the business between the two, gave them a quizzical look. His response was a slow nod. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ace thought over it for a moment before answering. "I guess I can't avoid it forever. Let's go to the cliffs though. I'd rather not risk others hearing."

* * *

_Ace…_

* * *

The walk to the cliffside was made in silence. Probably for the better. I had every intention of finally telling everyone today, but I didn't think it would happen so soon. There's no turning back now. I let out a small sigh.

"Where do I even begin?" I ask no one in particular. Thought the question was not aimed at anyone, Weiss felt she should answer.

"Wherever you think is best." The fencer said simply.

"Ever since I came here to Beacon, I've made so many new friends. I never expected to meet so many wonderful and new people, and I'm glad to have met all of you. But now I'm afraid I'm on the verge of losing the people I care about. Weiss I already told you that I lived most of my life without a single friend because of my family, but I never really told you the clear reason why."

"You left it at "Bad Blood" if I remember correctly." She states. Again I nod in confirmation.

"I'm sorry but could you two let me in on the situation?" Blake asks warily. Weiss looks at me and I allow her to speak on my behalf.

"Ace has had a great deal of poor experiences when it came to opening up to other people. For some reason they rejected him and many caused him great pain, both emotionally and physically."

"Blake, the night you ran off, I understood how scared you were. I know what it's like to be looked down upon, hated by others, hurt by those you thought you could trust. Your greatest secret was revealed and you didn't know what to do. But now that I have seen you go through that, I can't allow myself to hide my secrets anymore. I… I wish I could have been braver. I wish it could have been me in your position. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? It wasn't your fault." Blake questions. I have no answer to give her. "In any case, I would still like to know what you're hiding. You can tell us. We won't hate you."

I pull out my scroll and open my family photo file. I locate one that I need to show them. Without a word I show them the image. It was an older photo of a woman dressed in a white blouse smiling at the camera, with a young boy shying behind her, his right arm wrapped around her leg and the left of his small face peeking from behind. She had long white hair rooted in with strands of grey. Her eyes were a light blue, only slightly darker than Weiss'. The woman while not exceptionally old was not as young as she appeared at first sight. Signs of age where visible as they lightly accented her face. The boy had short black hair and eyes as blue as Jaune's. The most interesting feature was not from the boy but the woman. Atop her head sat a pair of grey ears, revealing she was of Faunus decent.

Weiss and Blake stared intently at the picture but were still unaware of its relevance to the situation. Finally I speak up.

"Her name is Luna." I inform simply, trying to give them more information. "She's a Wolf Faunus in case you were wondering."

"She's beautiful." Blake says, complementing the woman.

"I have to agree with Blake." Weiss says smiling. "Who's the boy in the picture?" She asks.

"That's me, when I was much younger." I answer.

"That's you? I've never seen you without your armor on." Weiss says looking between the picture and me.

"You look so scared. Were you a shy child?" Blake asks, getting more personal with her questioning. It's fine though.

"Yes I was. But I remember visiting her a lot when I was little. I didn't have friends but she was always there to make things better when I was feeling down. We had a lot of fun together during my visits." I say starting to tear up a little. "Weiss, Blake. Luna… Is my grandmother."

"Your grandmother?" Weiss and Blake both ask in shock.

"Where did you think I got the last name Wolfblade from?" I ask hardly looking at them.

"Then that means… You're a Faunus?" Weiss asks.

"Not exactly. I'm what most like to refer to as a "Half Breed". My father's great grandfather was a Human. He never really cared whether a person was Human or Faunus. He treated each with equal respect. One day he came across a woman in a forest one day, while traveling home. The woman was injured and unconscious. He brought her over to his house and took care of her. He later found out she was a Faunus from the Wolfblade family. The family was known for their weapon making skills, as it was how they made a living for themselves. They would talk to each other often and eventually they fell in love."

"His father wasn't happy to say the least. Unlike him, his father did not share the same views as he had with the Faunus. When he refused to leave her, his father disowned him. He was relieved in all honesty. He didn't care for his name if it meant that he was to be labeled as a racist as well. When it came time to introduce himself to the Wolfblades the reception was much more open and understanding than what he endured from his father. But there was still much concern. Racism towards the Faunus was rampant across Remnant at the time. To have a Human-Faunus relationship was almost a death wish. Half Breeds were despised by both human and Faunus alike and treated with no respect. That has still not changed much in the current years. Despite all of that they fought tooth and nail to keep their love strong. They were eventually married and my great, great grandfather took up the Wolfblade name. Since then the name Wolfblade has always been carried down through the generations and was the one I was born into." I finish staring at the forest below, rather than look at the judging looks from either of the two girls with me.

"When I told you I was mistreated due to "Bad Blood" Weiss, this is the reason why. I was born into a family that has seen more discrimination and ridicule then we even dare remember." As I speak I feel a tear roll down my cheek. "To most I'm nothing but a freak. A monster."

I braced myself for anything. Insults, violence, pain. But nothing could prepare me for what happened next.

I felt a hand lay against my right shoulder. I turn my head to see Blake looking at me with a sad smile. I could see not anger nor hate, but rather pity and understanding. I then felt a hand on my left shoulder. This time it was Weiss' hand. She shared the same look a Blake.

"You're not a monster." Blake started. "No matter what you are, don't ever think you are a monster. You are a wonderful person who does nothing but help the ones you care about. And more importantly you are our friend. If anything your family is living proof that Faunus and Humans can coexist in peace."

I then look back to Weiss. She had something to say as well. "I don't think you're a monster either. My family may think that discriminating Faunus is fine, but I am not my family. It took coming to Beacon for me to truly realize that not all of them are out for our blood and to start trying to push past their racial influence. It may still take some getting used to the idea, but I think it should be possible for both sides to be able to do what your family had without fear of ridicule."

"Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to hear you both say that." I say in a much happier tone.

"I have a question." Blake states grabbing my attention. "If you're part Faunus, then why don't you have any traits of a Faunus?"

"It's because I was born a male. In my family it is rare for a boy to be born with physical Faunus features. But for some reason the girls get the features almost every time. But just because I wasn't born with physical traits doesn't mean I don't have any traits at all." I explain.

"What do you mean?" Weiss inquired.

"I have enhanced senses just like any other Faunus. The difference is that they aren't as strong. I can see pretty well in the dark and my hearing is somewhere in between human and Faunus levels."

"Interesting. You really are a strange and intriguing person sometimes." Blake said playfully.

"Um hello have you met Matt. He's way more complex than I am." I joke.

"So when are you telling the others?" Weiss asks.

I sigh and pull out my scroll and type out a message and send it. "I sent the message to Matt. He already knows everything so he can tell them as much as I told you."

"Are you still nervous of your friends' judgment?" Blake asks.

"Yes, but not as much as before thanks to you two." I answer.

"I wouldn't be too worried. I think you'll be fine." Weiss states. "So Ruby says you have at least one other secret. A pet by the name of Shadow as I heard. Is that true?"

A small grin forms on my face. "Yes, I snuck him in to Beacon on day one. She didn't tell you what he was, did she?" I ask.

"No but she talked about him a bit. Actually she talked a lot about you as well." Weiss answers.

"Would you like to meet him?" I ask.

"I think it would be nice to see him yes. I'm rather curious as to why my dolt of a leader failed to mention what kind of pet he was. And it will be one less secret for you to hide." Weiss says with a smirk.

"I too would like to see why she talks so fondly of him." Blake adds.

"Okay but I'm going to warn you. He maybe a little… different." I warn.

"Please. I am Weiss Schnee. I have more exotic animals to my name then I can count. There is no way you can surprise me." She challenges.

"Oh I think I can." I turn to the cliff and whistle. A howl erupts from the tree line startling Weiss. "Ha ha ha. Here comes Shadow." I laugh.

"He lives in the forest with all the Grimm?" Blake asks.

"Yeah, but he can handle himself against them fine." I answer.

I can hear Shadow running up the steps leading up to the top of the cliff. He was almost here. As he comes into view Weiss and Blake reach for their weapons.

"Easy, girls. I'd rather you not eviscerate my friend." I tell them with a small smirk. Shadow comes to a stop at my side and sits.

"That's Shadow?" Weiss asks almost at a loss for words.

"Yes it is. What was that about not being surprised?" I say mocking her. Blake just stared at Shadow with her mouth hanging open.

"This isn't another one of you and Ruby's mechanical pranks is it?" Blake asks.

"Nope. He's a real Grimm. I'm sure you two have a lot of questions but I'd rather not get too far into details. Just know that he isn't like other Grimm and he won't hurt you." I say petting Shadow on the head.

"Well color me impressed. I never would have imagined it possible to tame a Grimm." Weiss says. "Ruby was right; you do have a very special companion."

_'__Ruby…'_ The mention of her name makes me frown for once. "What else did Ruby say about me?" I ask.

"Oh she just goes on and on about how nice you are to her, especially when you two were out in the city. She wouldn't stop talking about how much fun she had with you." Weiss answers. "I think she really likes you."

"Oh, well, I had a good time too." I say nervously.

Apparently they both caught my tone.

"Wait, are you blushing?" Blake asks.

"N-No! Of course not." I shout. _'Well you just blew your cover.'_

"Oh my Dust. You like her don't you?" Weiss asks accusingly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I lie. _'Please… Don't make me say it.'_

"Oh Ace don't play stupid, it doesn't suit you." She says folding her arms. "Admit it. You have a crush on my dolt of a partner."

"Fine! I'm in love with Ruby! Are you happy now!?" I yell. "I'm in love with the one person I can never have!"

"Why not?" Weiss asked firmly, unfazed by my outburst. "It's obvious you really like her, and I'm sure she likes you as well, so why don't you just ask her?"

"Ace, are you afraid of Ruby rejecting you?" Blake asks.

"I'm not afraid of her rejecting me. I'm afraid of her saying yes." I answer.

"Hold on. Did you just say you were afraid of Ruby accepting you as her boyfriend?" Weiss asks angrily.

"Yes."

"Why!? If you like each other you should at least try." Weiss snaps.

"I can't! I already told you how much my family has suffered because of who we are. I can't make Ruby go through that as well. As much as I have feelings for her I can't ruin her life by dating her. I just can't."

"Ace that's not fair for either of you and you know it." Blake says glaring at me.

"I don't care. I would rather be in pain loving her from afar, than make her suffer for my happiness. I love her too much." Their expressions soften. "Please… I'm begging you… Both of you… You can't ever tell her about my feelings for her." I plead.

"Fine. We won't tell. That doesn't mean we agree with your decision. Ruby is a strong girl. She'd stay by your side through every challenge." Weiss says relenting.

"It is not her burden to bear." I reply flatly.

"So how long have you known? About your feelings I mean." Blake asks.

"For a while now. I didn't know it at first, but ever since our trip to the city, I realized how happy she makes me. No matter what she always finds a way to make me smile. She's has such a kind soul and has such a loving heart. Being around her just makes my heart ache, but in a good way. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

Suddenly my scroll goes off alerting me that I have a message. Matt apparently told everyone and now there on their way over.

"Well, everyone else has been informed." I say as I put my scroll away.

"Are you ready?" Blake asks.

"I don't have a choice anymore." I turn and look at Shadow. "It's time for you to go back for now. I'll see you later buddy. Now, fade." He runs back down the cliffside and to his home. "We should get back to the school."

With that we walk back to the courtyard. A few minutes later everyone shows up with Zweii leading the way. He is the first to speak as he approaches even closer, staring me in the eyes.

"So, is really true? You're a Half Breed?" He asks.

"Yes. It's true." I confess.

"Why didn't you tell us?" He asks, his glare intensifying.

"Because I didn't want you all to hate me." I answer, shaking slightly.

He doesn't say anything else. He just continues to stare at me.

"Hyaa!" He shouts. The next think I know, he punches me with his armored hand, sending me to the ground. I slowly lift my hand to my face feeling the side he had struck. Tears well in my eyes. I look back up at him hesitantly.

"W-Why?"

"That's for not trusting us. Do you really think we care whether you're a Human, or a Faunus, or even a Half Breed? We're your friends and nothing is ever going to change that so don't you ever forget that." He commands, offering his hand to help me up.

As I look around, I see everyone is smiling at me. Ruby, Dez, Jaune, even Ren. They were all smiling, assuring me that they were indeed still my friends. That they accepted me. I can't hold back anymore. Tears start streaming down my face. I can feel my shoulders shaking as I cry.

"Th-Thank you, all of you." I choke out, wiping the tears off the sides of my face. Ruby tackled into me wrapping me in a hug. Jaune puts his hand on my shoulder in his own form of support. Matts is wearing a smile a mile long. The kind that says 'I'm proud of you'.

"Everybody, thank you. Thank you so much. I've lived my life always fearing what lied ahead for me. I've felt so alone for a long time. But now, with all of you by my side, I know the future will always be brighter. So… Thank you." I say wiping away the rest of my tears.

I had finally done it. I no longer have reason to hide. I know now that I have made true friends. Friends who would never leave me. Now my journey begins anew. And I couldn't be happier.


	18. Chapter 16

**Burning Up The Dance Floor: A Hot Night Out on The Town**

* * *

The time spent in Oobleck's class always seems to go by so fast. He starts talking at a mile a minute and then class is over before you even know it. But not today, at least not for me. Today seemed to drag on at a pace slower than Forever Fall sap in winter time, which ironically just started.

Just yesterday I revealed to my friends that I was a Half Breed. I was so scared of their judgment, but instead of abandoning me like everyone else, excluding Matt, they remained true friends. I no longer have to hide from them. It's as if an immense weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Yet it still bothers me. I should be thankful that things turned out the way they did, so why am I still hung up on it?

I guess part of the reason is my team. Zweii was very angry that I had hid the truth from them for so long. My cheek still occasionally stings from when he punched me. But he had every right to be angry. I lied to them. I lied to my friends, my team, my own partner. I hate lying to people, but lies seemed to be the only thing that kept me from so much pain. Dez hasn't said much about it. For as much of an outgoing person he is, I wouldn't be surprised if he too secretly shared in Zweii's disappointment.

Then there was Ruby. The girl that found her way deep into my heart without even knowing it. She was also okay with me being who I am, which should bring me some hope, but instead deep down, I still know that being with her is impossible. So now I'm forcing myself to lie about my true feelings for her. Weiss and Blake knowing doesn't make things easy for me either.

So here I sit through History with my head resting in my folded arms, barely even paying attention to whatever Oobleck is lecturing about. I flinch slightly as a paper wad hits me in the back of the head. On the paper there is a hint of writing. I uncrumple it to see what it says.

_'__Freak' _Is written in bold across the thin piece of paper. I guess that doesn't help my mood either. I turn around just enough to see Cardin wearing a massive smirk as his lackeys laugh amongst themselves. I should have known better.

Cardin Winchester; Beacon's lead bully and renowned Faunus hater. People like him make me sick to my stomach. He has absolutely no respect for others, especially if they are Faunus, or in my case, a Half Breed. Unlike Weiss, he has absolutely no intention of ever changing his racist views. I don't know why, but for some reason Team CRDL have now decided to make me their new target of their cruelty.

Ever since Jaune showed him up in Forever Fall, he had been really quite when it came to messing with him or anyone Jaune deemed a friend. For someone who snuck his way into Beacon, he really handled the whole situation like someone worthy of being here. Unfortunately it seems Cardin's lack of a punching bag left him angry and only made him even bolder in his attacks against our collective friends.

"And that's all the time we have for today." Oobleck states. "Remember to review your notes on today's lecture. They will most assuredly help you on your upcoming exam. Class dismissed." He says before zipping out of the classroom.

_'__Great… I didn't even take one note…'_

I get out of my chair and walk out the door, my team not far behind. Instead of turning to head to our room, I opt to move towards the library to study the chapter we went over in class. There was just too much uneasy tension in the room since yesterday to read in the dorm room. But now I think I'm about to regret this decision, because Team CRDL is blocking the way that I was going.

"Well if it isn't the freak leader himself." Cardin mocks. "What's the matter? Your team tired of hanging with a Grimm?" He asks hatefully.

"What do you want Cardin?" I ask with a sigh. I know he's looking to cause trouble, but there has to be a reason why they are targeting me and I want to know why.

"Oh, so the monster wants to know what I want does he?" He sneers. "Well if you really must know I was just wondering why when all of us normal people go to class, we have to dress in our uniforms, but you don't."

"It's none of your business what I wear." I reply with a frown.

"You know what? You're right. I guess it really doesn't matter. Honestly if I were a freak like you I wouldn't want to show my face in public either." He says earning laughs from his teammates.

"Whatever. I don't have time for this." I huff moving to walk past them. Instead I'm shoved to the floor by Cardin and his mow hawked partner, Russel.

"Did I say we were done with you?" He asks rhetorically as I get up.

"HEY!" I hear someone shout making everyone look to see who it was. It was Yang, and she did not look happy at all. "What do you think you're doing?" She growls.

"Oh nothing much, me and the freak were just having a very interesting conversation." He says smugly.

"Oh really? And what could you possibly have to talk about?" She asks crossing her arms.

"Well word around the school is that a filthy Half Breed managed to sneak his way into Beacon, and that the mutt is you, Wolfblade."

_'__That's why he's targeting me? How… How does he know? No one has said a word about it!' _I internally panic.

"And so what if he is?" Yang asks angrily. "Everyone is welcome in this school. Human, Faunas, _and_ Half Breeds."

"Wow, Xiao Long. Never figured you'd be such an animal lover." He mocks

"You and your little birdies oughta fly away, before I start knocking you on your sorry tail ends." She smirks, her eyes flashing red for a split second.

"Hmph. I have better things to do anyway. See you later freak." He says before walking off with his cronies.

"Today's just not my day it seems." I say sighing. "Thanks for the help Yang. I appreciate it." I tell the brawler.

"Hey it was no big deal. I saw what he did in class. He's just a big jerk who likes to run his mouth." She replies.

"Well, I'll see you later." I say turning to leave.

"Ace, what's wrong? You've looked depressed all day." She asks frowning.

"Look Yang I know you're trying to help, but I really don't want to talk about it right now. I need to study." I say starting to walk again. That is before a strong arm hefts me over the stubborn blonds shoulder.

"What you _need_ is some cheering up." She says walking while essentially kidnapping me.

"Yang, put me down." I order, struggling to break free.

"Hmm…" She hums pretending to consider my request. "Nope. Too late you're hangin with me tonight, Wolfie." She says enthusiastically.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" I say deadpanning at the nickname. I know she means nothing by it but it still irritates me.

"Aww come on! It fits you perfectly!" She grins.

"You know if it were anyone other than me, you would probably offend someone." I state growing tired from trying to get away from her.

"You know you're a real stick in the mud. Don't you ever just go out and have a good time?" She asks.

"Yang, you know I don't have a very good social life outside of you guys right?"

"Yep! And I know just the place to fix all of that and put you in a better mood." She says as she we stop in front of her Team's room. "Now wait here while I get changed."

As I'm left alone out in the hallway I contemplate what I should do. I could always just leave, but getting on her bad side isn't something I want to do. After all she is just trying to help. Against my better judgment I decide to stay and wait for her. A few short minutes later she's back in her regular attire.

"Alright I'm ready. Now do I have to keep carrying you like a sack of potatoes or are you going to cooperate?" She asks.

"Lead the way."

"Awesome. Let's get going."

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" I ask as I follow her outside.

"If I did that it would ruin the surprise of everything now wouldn't it Wolfie?"

"Ugh, fine." I groan.

_'__This is going to be a long night…'_

* * *

"Yang! Don't you think you should slow down!?" I yell over the sound of a roaring engine.

Shortly after leaving Beacon she pulled us onto her black and gold motorcycle, aptly named Bumblebee. I had never had the experience of riding one before, and now I may never want to again. Not with Yang driving at least. She obviously knows what she's doing as a driver but that doesn't excuse her from tearing down the road at breakneck speed.

"No way! Bumblebee wasn't built to go slow! She was built to burn rubber!" She says laughing mischievously, weaving through traffic with ease. "Don't worry, we're almost there!"

Soon after passing through a shady looking area of the city, we pass underneath a bridge and come to a stop. In front was a large, three story building with the sounds of techno music coming from within.

"We're here~!" She announces happily. Getting off of her bike.

"Please don't tell me you took me to a club Yang."

"Okay I won't tell you." She smiles

Of all the places she brings me, it had to be a club. I should be surprised at this. But this _is_ Yang we're talking about.

"I regret letting you talk me into this." I sigh.

"Oh come on. It will be lots of fun." She pleads.

"Alright. How are we getting in? We're underage and I don't think they will let just anyone in."

"Don't worry, I know the owner." She smiles.

We walk in through the front doors, the music becoming increasingly louder. We reach a second set of doors which automatically slide to the side to grant us entrance and revealing the interior of the establishment. In the middle of the room was a large platform which appeared to be made of reinforced glass panels with people dancing on it. At each corner was a column covered in the same glass plates, which reflected the various lights projected from overhead all over the dimly lit area. There was also a few trees around the perimeter. A few stair ways in the room lead down to the dancefloor while others went up to other parts of the club.

Up on one of the balconies was the DJ booth, where a man wearing a bear costumes head, stood adjusting the music, moving with the beat all the while. On the left side of the club was a bar stocked with more alcoholic beverages then you could imagine.

_'__Note to self: Don't bring Matthew here.'_

We walk past the dancefloor, making our way over to the bar. As we walked, a bunch of men eyed us intently and some even fearfully. They were all dressed the same, wearing black vests over red undershirts. They wore red shades and black fedoras. Each one wielded what looked like a fire ax.

Before we reach the bar area we are intercepted by two teenage girls that appeared to be twins. They each had long black hair and light green eyes. One was dressed in a white strapless dress with cyan lining, with various accessories including a white flower hair pin and feather scarf. The second wore a red strapless dress with black lining, with similar accessories, but instead of a scarf and hairpin she wore black fur hanging off her shoulders and held at the front by a dark-gray chain and large red and white feathers over her left ear. She also sported a rather interesting pair of red claws. Neither one of them looked happy to see us.

"You have a lot of nerve coming back her blondie." The white themed girl said in an arrogant tone.

"Oh don't be such a sore loser." Yang says unmoved by the other girl. "Where's Junior?" She asks. This time the girl in red speaks.

"He's not here tonight. He has business elsewhere settling the cost of repairs from your last visit." She replies dryly.

"Look I'm not here to start another fight. I brought my friend here to try to cheer him up." Yang explains, motioning to me. "Ace, meet Melanie and Miltia Malachite." She says introducing us to each other.

"A pleasure I'm sure." I greet politely. I turn to the girl in red. "Nice claw gauntlets by the way. Don't see many people using those."

"Thank you." She replies politely.

"Hmph, at least it seems your friend has manners." Melanie says.

"Thank you. One of us has to." I say glaring at Yang. "So Yang, do you mind explaining to me why everyone here looks like they want to kill you?" I ask.

"Well last time I was here, I may or may not have got into a fight and blown up the club." She says rubbing the back of her head. "Guess you could say it was a real blast." She grins.

"Confound it Yang." I look back at the twins. "I'll make sure she behaves this time."

They look at each other briefly before turning back to us and saying "Whatever" in unison before walking off.

"I thought you said you weren't a people person." Yang mocks.

"I said I don't have an overly active social life." I retort as we walk up to the bar. "Don't tell me you're getting alcohol for yourself."

"I'm not. I'm getting drinks for both of us." She replies.

"We're underage Yang. We don't even belong here, let alone should we be allowed to drink."

"By one year if that. You can't tell me you've never had a drink before."

"One time Yang. One time and I regretted it."

"Okay, I know you're concerned about all this, but you need to learn to kick back and enjoy yourself every once and a while. Tonight is all about having a good time. Trust me, it will help." She turns back to the counter, and starts talking to the man in charge. "Strawberry Sunrise, no ice, and one of those umbrella things."

"And what about you?" He asks me.

"Just give me what she's having."

"Coming up."

"Alright, Wolf Boy!" Yang cheers.

I smile briefly at this. Maybe she's right. I tend to stress myself out to much. A night of fun might benefit me. Not that I would resort to getting blitzed to do so.

"Here you are." The man says handing us our drinks. "14 Lien."

"I got it." Yang says putting up her money.

"So how do you know about this place Yang?" I ask as we walk away with our drinks.

"I heard they had great drinks and music." She smiles.

"Okay, what's the real reason?"

She drops her smile and sighs. She takes a swift drink before speaking.

"I came across this place when I heard its owner, Junior, was the man to talk to get information."

"What kind of name is Junior?"

"His real name is Hei Xiong but everyone calls him Junior. Him and his goons have secret connections everywhere so he knows a lot of thing's other people would never find out. He even will hire out his men for those who can pay. Torchwick actually hired a few of them to help in the dust robbery Ruby stopped."

"So what did you need him for?"

"To find my mother."

"Wait, your mother is missing? You never told us that."

"She disappeared shortly after I was born. No reason, she just left. My dad was hurt by her leaving. That's when Ruby's mom came into play. She was on my parent's team along with our Uncle Qrow. She was his second love. Because of her, he was slowly able to heal. Eventually they had Ruby together. Of course you know how that ended…" She pauses looking into her drink. "I've spent a long time looking for her, wondering why she left me. I just… Want to find her."

"I never realized you had both lost your mothers. I'm sorry to hear that." I tell her before taking a drink. It's surprisingly good. "Hey Yang? If you found her, what would you do?"

"What do ya mean?" She asks.

"If you found her how would you react? Would you be happy to have found her, or would you be angry at her for leaving?"

"I… I guess I never thought that far."

"Well, are you mad at her for leaving?" I ask.

"Of course I'm mad! Why would she just leave like that? I didn't even know her, but I really wanted to know my own mother!"

"So what good would finding her do if you were only going to be mad at her?" I ask.

"I just want to know why…"

"Yang, I don't honestly know what you've been through because she left you. I can tell she hurt you pretty bad though. I would be mad if my mother would have done the same to me. I don't know what kind of person your mother was, but maybe she had a good reason for leaving. Don't get me wrong, leaving your family without saying a word is unacceptable, but perhaps there was a reason she couldn't. You may go your entire life without finding her, but you shouldn't dwell on it too much. You have a very loving sister and lots of friends that _are_ there for you."

"I know. It just makes me so angry."

"Don't you mean Yangry?" I grin. She just stares at me gawking for a few seconds.

"You just made a pun… I'm SO proud of you!" She cheers.

"Geez Yang, it was just one small joke. I'm no stranger to humor."

"I guess not."

"You know, I have a feeling your mother is still out there, and even though she left, I'm sure she still loves you. Don't give up hope."

"Thanks, Wolfie. So… What's got you so bothered all of a sudden?" She asks.

"Yesterday, I told all of you the truth about who I am. I was really happy that you all accepted me. But I lied to all of you for so long. I hated doing that. I should have trusted you all way sooner. Not only that, but now Zweii hasn't tried to speak with me all day. He's actually very angry I didn't trust my own team."

"What did you think we would have done if we didn't accept you?"

"Abandon me. Hurt me like everyone else has… Be like Cardin."

"Oh that rat doesn't even deserve to be at Beacon the way he acts. That's not how people, especially Huntsmen, should act. You shouldn't have ever needed to hide the truth. And if anyone gives you problems, I'll introduce their faces to my fists."

"Thanks, but I don't think violence will solve anything."

"Doesn't hurt to try, well except for the person who just took a fist to the face." She grins.

"Is that how you solve all of your problems?"

"No, but it's a great way to burn off stress."

"… Wanna fight?" I ask finishing my drink.

"You wanna fight me?"

"Why not? Let's burn some stress."

"We may be able to help with that." Melanie's says. We turn to see the twins walking up.

"Whoa I thought you didn't want me to blow up the club." Yang says.

"Well it turns out your fighting attracted a lot of people's attention." Melanie explains. "Seems people wanted to pay good money to see some fighting."

"Which is why Junior decided to add an extra edition to the dance floor just in case." Miltia adds. "So we can help you, and you help us earn some extra money. After all, you owe us." She finishes looking at Yang. Me and Yang look at each other before speaking again.

"What kind of addition?" Yang and I ask together.

* * *

After Miltia finished clearing the dance floor of people, Melanie whispers something in the DJ's ear. He nods and pulls out a microphone.

"Alright, is everyone having a good time tonight?" He asks the club goers. He was answered by cheers and applause. "Well if you're having fun now, don't go anywhere because we have a special show for you tonight!" He says before reaching for a switch underneath the tables.

The lights stop spinning and focus directly on the dance floor. The whole stage starts rising out of the floor and stops once fully elevated. Thick glass panels rise up from the floor on every side making a square ring. The dance floor was turned into a sparring area.

"Is everyone ready to see some action?" The DJ asks. Again he's answered by cheering. "I can't hear you. I said are you ready to see some action!?" This time the cheers are louder. "Alright then. Tonight we have two special guests from Beacon Academy." The crowd gasps in amazement. "That's right, we have two Hunters in training ready to duke it out for you all tonight! On this side we have the girl with fists of fire, the blonde brawler, Yang Xiao Long!"

Yang jumps into the ring with a flip landing on her feet and punching her fists together creating a small heat wave. The crowd cheers as she takes practice punches at the air.

"On this side we have her challenger, the boy of many weapons, the Grimm warrior, Ace Wolfblade!"

I jump into the stage punching into the ground. I flash my semblance on and off to add some effect as I rise and take my stance. The crowd is going wild by now, their excitement filling the club.

"This will be a untimed, no bars fight, ladies and gentlemen. Challengers, are you ready?"

Yang and I grin in anticipation. "Let's do this!" We both shout.

"Fight!" He shouts into the microphone. The techno music returns to play during the match.

Yang sprints forward and unleashes a flurry of punches. I block most of them with my arms. I punch with my right arm, aiming for her head, which she ducks under and counters with a few powerful punches to the chest, sending me sliding back a bit.

"And they're off with a fierce start! Wolfblade is taking the hits, but he can't seem to touch the fiery brawler!"

I quickly run back to her, trying to land a strike. She bobs and weaves, dodging my attacks. She's focused on evading my fists. She throws a punch my way that I duck under. As I'm crouched on the floor a give her a low sweep with my leg knocking her off balance. She falls backwards, slightly bouncing off the ground. Grabbing her legs, I swing her over my head and slam her into the floor.

"And a devastating counter from the swordsman! That one had to hurt!"

The crowd cheers loudly, half of them cheering for me and the others cheering for Yang. I've never had this kind of attention before. It feels nice to be cheered on for once.

"That was a pretty smooth move Wolfie, but it's time to get serious!" Yang says cocking Ember Celica.

"Sounds good to me." I say drawing Lunar Fang.

"Looks like things are about to heat up folks! Both fighters have pulled out their weapons and are raring to go!"

Yang fires multiple rounds from her gauntlets, which I deflect with my blade. The explosions however chip tiny amounts out of my aura. I rush her swing at her from every opening I can find. She blocks with her gauntlets and then kicks forward staggering me. She then proceeds to use a second volley of punches, this time with the added power of firing her weapon each time she made contact.

"Looks like Wolfblade may be in some trouble here. Even with his armor those rounds are doing their job with great efficiency."

I stop her by blocking the next punch with my blade and begin slashing at her striking her with as much power as I can put behind my swings. It pushes her back and I try to mix in a kick to her side. She catches my legs and grins. I shake my head with a grin of my own, confusing her for a brief moment before using her hold against her. By spinning in her grip I bring my other leg up and connect with the side of her face knocking her on the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I swear I saw Melanie actually smiling at this.

She gets off the floor and stares at me with red eyes. Her hair begins burning with fire, her Semblance activating.

"Now you got me all fired up!" She grins. "Hope you're ready for this."

"Well, we are in a club, so let's dance." I joke.

"Hey, making jokes is my job."

She fires her gauntlets behind her boosting her forward. I spin to the left and swing my blade, baseball batting her with the blunt end of my blade. I can't afford to let her hit me now with her power growing stronger and stronger with each hit. The crowd continues their cheering, clearly enjoying the show.

Yang appears to be getting angrier the more she misses me. She wouldn't hesitate to go full out if this keeps up much longer. She charges forward swinging for my head. I cloak myself and dodge her strike uncloaking a bit further back.

"You may float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, but you can't hit what you can't see." I mock cloaking again as she fires another round my way.

In an attempt to confuse her I run to the right and uncloak while she fires a barrage of rounds trying to hit me. I then cloak and move to the left side and reappear before reactivating my Semblance and moving back to the right, getting closer and closer to Yang each time. She fires a round to the left where she thinks I'm going to appear next.

Sadly I'm not that predictable and bring my sword down on her shoulder as I reappear on her right side. I spin around behind her and slash upwards knocking her into the air before spinning once more to her left and slamming her into the floor, retreating back to my side of the ring.

"Wolfblade lands a crushing blow on Xiao Long with a stealthy fake out!"

As we both stand at our side of the ring we both begin to show of fatigue. Yang took a lot of strikes just now, but I used a lot of Aura to do so.

"You ready to end this?" I ask Yang as I get ready for my final attack.

"Hit me with your best shot Wolfie!" She answers, purging her gauntlets of her empty rounds and throwing fresh clips in each one.

We make our final sprint towards each other and unleash a series of slashes and punches, deflecting each other's attacks and countering each time. I take a strong swing with Lunar Fang at her but she blocks with her right hand before punching me with a strong left jab and upper cutting me in my center with her right fist, with all the power of my strikes against her in one powerful shot, launching me into the air and onto my back. My sword slides across the floor and stops next to me.

I roll over trying to push myself off the floor, but the strength in my body is gone. I don't have any more energy to continue fighting and fall back onto the floor in defeat.

"And there you have it ladies and gentlemen! The winner is Yang Xiao Long!" The DJ announces, the crowd roaring with excitement from the conclusion of the match. Yang walks over and helps me up.

"Thanks Yang. That was a great match."

"You weren't so bad yourself." She says smiling, hair no longer burning and eyes back to their usual color. The ring begins to sink back down into the floor.

"You were right. I think I really needed this." I say as we step off the floor.

The Malachite twins meet up with us off the dance floor.

"You two put on quite the show tonight." Melanie says handing us each a small envelope.

"What's this?" I ask as Yang starts opening up hers.

"A small cut of the earnings tonight." Miltia answers.

"People started placing bets on how the fight would turn out. Most of the people didn't expect Ace to last more than ten minutes against you blondie. A lot of people actually bet that Ace would win the match. Shows what they know." Melanie explains.

"Doesn't matter. Their loss is our gain." Miltia states as I open my envelope. My eyes go wide when I see its contents.

"300 Lien!? This is awesome!" Yang shouts in excitement.

"You didn't have to do this." I tell the twins.

"Consider it payment for not blowing up the club and making us some extra money." Miltia says.

"Thank you then. Come on Yang. I think it's about time we get back to Beacon."

"Alright. Guess I'll see you two later." She says to the twins.

"Whatever." They both say in unison.

As we walk out the people in the club give us one last cheer before we make our exit.

"This was actually a lot of fun Yang. Just don't make a habit of kidnapping me." I grin.

"I will make you no promises." She grins. "You feeling better now?"

"I do actually. Now I just need to figure out how to fix things with my team."

"You should just talk to them. I'm sure they'll understand."

"Yeah. Yeah I think I'll do that."

"Good. Now let's burn out of here."

* * *

When we return to Beacon we part ways after exchanging goodnights. I walk to the dorm room door and unlock the door with my scroll. Waiting for me is Matt and Dez with a very annoyed looking Zweii with his arms crossed.

"Ace, where have you been?" Matt asks worriedly. "Dude, why do you smell like sweat and alcohol?"

"Yang decided to take me to a club she knows. Sorry I forgot to tell you guys where I was going to be."

Zweii just looks even more annoyed, and Dez just remains stoic and silent.

"Guys… I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't trust you with my secret. You guys are my best friends and I was worried I would lose you if you knew the truth. I didn't realize you how I hurt you for lying. I should have told you from the beginning. I only hope you can see it in you to forgive me."

Zweii stays motionless for a few seconds before walking over to his bed and picking up his journal. He walks back over and hands it to me.

"You didn't take any notes today. Can't have our leader falling behind in his studies." He grins.

"So… You forgive me?" I ask taking the journal.

"I guess I can understand where you were coming from. Apology accepted."

"Just promise not to keep this kind of stuff from us anymore, okay?" Dez adds.

"You got it."

"You need any help studying?" Zweii asks.

"Actually, Yang really wore me out. It's pretty late anyway so I'm going to bed."

"That sounds like a good idea." Matt yawns.

"Yeah we should all get some shut eye." Zweii adds.

"Good night everybody." I say, taking my armor off.

I slip underneath the covers and immediately pass out.

* * *

I wake up surrounded by darkness again. Which means I'm still sleeping and the voice is here.

"Hello." I say turning to the white orb instinctively.

"I see you are in higher spirits this time." The voice says.

"Yeah I guess you could say that. I take it you want to speak to me about something."

"I come with a warning. Something dangerous is coming. When it arrives, you will be forced to make a choice."

"What kind of choice?"

"You will have to choose between yourself and the one you love."

"The one I… Ruby?"

"Choose carefully. Farewell." The orb says before disappearing into the darkness.

I don't wake up like the many times before. Instead I return to my sleep, thinking about the voice's warning.


	19. Chapter 17

**Blizzard: Stranded Together at Beacon Academy**

* * *

"Ace, Hurry up!" Matt shouts anxiously, as I try to gather the rest of my things together as quick as possible.

"Sorry Matt." I apologize as I pack the rest of my belongings in my suitcase.

"Ugh, you always rag on me about procrastinating and getting stuff done before the last minute." He groans in annoyance.

"I know, but I stayed up late last night working on the Dust augmentation for my gear and it slipped my mind."

"Oh yeah, your little Dust experiment."

"Yep." I reply as I finally close the last of my stuff in the suitcase. "Okay. That's everything."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so…" I answer checking my mental list. "Oh Dust!" I exclaim.

"What?"

"I forgot about Shadow. He's still out in the forest."

"How do you forget about something like that?" Dez asks.

"Look I was very tired last night." I defend.

"Well let's all go to the cliff and get him real quick. We can come back for our stuff after." Zweii suggests.

"Alright."

Winter Break was starting tomorrow for all of us at Beacon. Ozpin had announced we would be allowed to go home for the holidays to visit with our families. Naturally everyone was excited to get a break from school.

Ruby and Yang were going home to visit with their father and Uncle Qrow.

Weiss seemed less than excited to be returning home to Atlas. I'm sure life at home would be rather frustrating when you are trying to escape your family's views.

Blake said nothing on the matter, instead opting to avoid the issue by burying her face in another book.

Jaune was returning to his Mother and Father as well as seven sisters. I don't know whether I would be happy or terrified to have that many siblings.

Pyrrha was taking a second flight out to Mistral, where her family resides. I'm sure it would be exciting for all of Mistral to see their champion returning.

Ren and Nora were traveling together to back to their hometown, Nora ever excited about "spending the holiday's together, but not together together". I wish Ren would just ask her out already and make it official. They obviously have a deeper connection than just being friends.

Dez would be heading to the city for his Winter Break and Zweii would be heading to Atlas with Weiss. That just left me and Matt, heading to the countryside. Our families would get together for Christmas like they have for many years before.

Of course in all of the excitement I somehow forgot I had a pet and loyal companion waiting for me in the forest that needed to go home as well. The weather was supposed to getting really bad soon. A huge snowstorm, the likes of which we had never seen, had its sights on Vale, and that included Beacon.

Grimm are very resilient to many things, bad weather included, but that doesn't mean I want Shadow out here where I can't make sure he's okay.

I sprint through the hallway with great speed, only to literally run into Jaune and Ruby.

"Oof. Hey Ace, where's the fire?" Jaune asks after I bump into him.

"Sorry. I kinda forgot something and I'm in a rush." I reply.

"Where did you leave it?"

"Out in the forest."

"Ace. You almost forgot Shadow didn't you?" Ruby asks. I nod in response.

"Wait, who is Shadow?" Jaune asks.

"I'll explain it to you later. I got to go get him."

"I'll go with you!" Ruby chirps. I want to say good bye to him before we all go home."

"No Ruby. I don't want you missing the airship home in case I can't return in time. Yang would probably kill me if that happened."

"But we have an hour before it leaves, and it shouldn't take too long anyway. Please?" She pleads. She's even using those puppy dog eyes of hers. Curse those beautiful silver orbs.

"Alright then. You can come." I concede.

"Yes!" She cheers happily.

"I'll come too." Jaune adds. "I like meeting new friends."

"Uh Jaune…"

"Ruby! What is taking you so long?" We hear, as I am interrupted by Weiss' voice. The young heiress herself looks out the door to find us. "Oh hello Ace. What are you doing here?"

"Hey Weiss. We're going to go get Shadow." Ruby explains.

"Ah. And how do you propose on getting him home?" Weiss asks looking at me.

"Same way I got him here. Sneak him on the airship."

"Hey Weiss, wanna come with us?" Ruby asks.

"Hmm… I guess it wouldn't hurt." She decides.

"Oh Ace. Have you shown him to Yang yet?" Ruby asks turning towards me.

"Shown who to me?" The blonde in question asks, walking from the room, Blake accompanying her.

"No I haven't, nor JNPR for that matter. Things have been busy."

"Well we could fix that right now." Blake proposes.

"Alright. Get everyone together I guess. But hurry. I don't want anyone missing out on going home."

"Already here!" Nora cheers, Ren and Pyrrha following her out of the room.

"As are we." Zweii says, walking up with the rest of the team. "I don't see why you had to sprint off like that. We have time you know."

"I just have this bad feeling is all." I state. "Let's go." I say, taking my collection of friends to the Cliffside.

* * *

We reach the Cliffside in a few minutes. The air was chilly and the added chill from the winds did nothing to hide that fact. The weather was already getting bad. We need to get Shadow and leave as soon as possible.

I call Shadow by whistling, but something is wrong. There is no howl indicating that he had heard me.

"Why didn't he respond?" Matt asks.

"I don't know. He always signals when he has heard me." I state.

"Maybe the wind is interfering." Dez reasons, as more wind rips through the air.

"It's definitely a possibility." I say turning to the archer.

I try whistling again, listening very closely for Shadow's howl. When nothing comes I start to get worried.

"Somethings not right."

"Hey Wolfie. Ya mind clueing us in on who or what we're waiting for?" Yang asks.

"It's my pet Shadow. I snuck him in to Beacon on the first day and I've been letting him live secretly in the Emerald Forest. Well at least secret from people other than you guys. Anyway I don't know why but he's not responding." I explain.

"Oh yeah. Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all said something about you having a pet." Yang says thinking back to previous conversations with her team.

"What kind of pet is Shadow?" Jaune asks.

"A Beowolf." I answer.

He, along with his team and Yang stare blankly at me for a second before Yang starts laughing.

"Ha! That's a good one Wolfie. And here I thought you didn't have a sense of humor."

"Yeah. A real good one." Jaune adds, laughing nervously. "A Beowolf."

When they see not only me but the rest of my team and Ruby's staring back at them, they get the picture. Yang's jaw practically hit the ground.

"You're not joking are you?" Jaune questions, a look of worry present on his face.

"Do you see me laughing?" I ask. I have armor made out of Grimm. How hard would it be to believe I may have one as a pet?

…

Okay, yeah when I say it out loud it doesn't make any sense, even to me.

"As impossible as it may seem, Ace really has a tame Beowolf living out here in the forest." Weiss says in support of my claim. "He's actually quite nice."

Nora's eyes seem to light up with excitement at this new found news.

"I wanna see him! He sounds cool! Does he do any tricks? Is he housebroken?" She asks swiftly, not even waiting for the answers. "Ooh! I wonder if he likes pancakes."

"I highly doubt it Nora." Ren says answering her last question.

"But everybody should like pancakes." She claims, gasping at her friends answer.

"So what are we going to do?" Matt asks, disregarding the previous questioning by Nora.

"_You_ are all going to get on the airship and going home. _I_ will go look for him." I answer, turning to the cliff.

"Yeah that's not going to happen. No way am I letting you look for him all by yourself in this mess. I'm going to help you look."

"No, you're not." I argue. "Now get going."

"Yes, I am!" Matt shouts in opposition.

"We all are." Ruby chimes in, getting our attention. "If we all look together, we'll find him in no time."

"Ruby's right. Statistically with all of us combing the forest, we will have a much greater chance of finding Shadow before we all have to leave." Weiss points out.

"Guys…"

"Ace, we're not letting you get stuck here at Beacon by yourself for the holidays and that's final." Matt declares.

"Everyone else feels the same?" I ask looking around at everyone.

"Of course we do." Zweii states simply.

"No man, or pet, left behind." Dez states.

"You guys are the best." I say with a small grin. "Alright then. Everybody should take their partner and split up. No one travels alone out here. Call on the scrolls if you find him or need help."

"Right." Everyone says in unanimous agreement, before taking off.

_'__Hold on Shadow. I'm coming to find you.'_

* * *

_Beacon Landing Pad…_

* * *

Ozpin and Glynda stood near the airship seeing the many students off. Most were already onboard and awaiting its departure. But Ozpin noticed a distinct lack of three first year teams.

Snow was already starting to fall, delicately beginning to cover the surrounding area. The ground was covered in a thin blanket of the powder. The foliage, now mostly bare of any leaves, were matted with patches of the clingy substance. Anyone would agree that is was a beautiful sight. But this was merely the calm before the storm, and this was putting the Headmaster on edge.

"Where could they be?" Ozpin mutters before taking a casual sip from his mug. While coffee was his go to beverage, the weather put him quite the mood for cocoa.

The weather was already beginning to pick up, much quicker than previously anticipated. The piolet already had notified Ozpin that he would have to disembark half an hour early just to avoid the storm.

"I will try messaging them through their scrolls." Glynda says pulling out her own, only to find there was an "X" over the signal bar. "Sir, I'm not getting a signal on the scroll." She informs.

Ozpin checks on his own device to make the same discovery. There was indeed no signal.

"The circuits in the most have frozen over due to the frigid temperatures. Without them, service here is completely shut off." Ozpin deduces.

"That may take some time to repair. We may have to stay here to fix it." Glynda sighs.

"Hey Oz." The pilot calls from the boarding ramp. "The weathers getting bad and it's only going to get worse. I have to get this bird going before it becomes too dangerous to fly. Where are the rest of your students?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. Is there no way you can wait any longer?" Ozpin asks.

"Sorry Oz. It's now or never."

"I understand. Take the students home. We will remain here."

"Roger that. You two take care." The pilot says before returning to the inside of the airship. The airship starts up and takes to the sky, making a hasty departure.

"Sir, you do realize the airship won't return until after the break don't you?" Glynda asks, adjusting her glasses.

"I'm quite aware of that. Which means we you and I will be forced to remain here…"

"With teams RWBY, JNPR, and AZRE for two weeks." Glynda sighs.

"At least things will stay interesting around here." Ozpin grins.

"That's precisely what I'm afraid of."Glynda scowls. "Still, I wonder what could have caused them to miss their flight."

"It is quite strange. We will have to figure that out when we find them."

"I must say you don't seem too disappointed to stay here." Glynda notes.

"Beacon is my home and responsibility, as are my students in the latter aspect. It is my duty to take care of both." Ozpin says before pausing for a sip of the warm brown liquid in his mug. "Speaking of which, how long is this storm supposed to last?"

"A few days at the least." Glynda answers. "We won't be able to fix the communications tower until after it blows over."

"I guess we will have to find other ways to occupy our time until then."

"If I recall, you're still behind on your paperwork." Glynda points out.

"Glynda, it's the holidays. We're supposed to take a rest from work." Ozpin says, earning a stern glare from his assistant. "Alright, I'll take care of it. What are you going to do?"

"Someone has to keep an eye on the students." The platinum blonde responds flatly.

"Are you implying that you believe they are incapable of being trusted to be on their own?"

"I trust most of them to be responsible. Xiao Long, Erthanos, and Valkyrie I do not. Need I remind you who I must constantly reprimand for their antics?"

"No you do not. Though it is amazing what kind of potential they could have if they put all that energy into their work and studies." Ozpin grins. The wind interrupts the pleasant conversation by blowing with such force Glynda's cape threatened to fly away. "Well there's no sense staying out here. Let's go inside."

"What about the students? They could be outside."

"Glynda, have a little faith in them. A little bad weather isn't going to stop them. After all, this is our leading first years we're talking about." Ozpin says with confidence.

With a nod from Glynda, the professors return to the school.

* * *

_Ace…_

* * *

"So where should we start looking?" Zwei asks as we make our way through the forest.

"He has a small den not too far from here. I think we should check there first to make sure he isn't there." I answer.

"So does he live in the house with you back home?"

"Yes but he's not confined to it. He really enjoys being outside, especially when the weather is nice. Grimm don't do well in total confinement anyway."

"I something about that before. People have tried containing Grimm in cages or even pens for show, but after a while they just die."

"Right. I'm sure they weren't trying to take the best care of them to begin with, but even if they did the Grimm still perish. It might have to do with the fact that they had nothing to feed on."

"Negative emotion."

"Yeah. People believe that the Grimm don't find energy in simply consuming food. Instead they are attracted to negative emotion because it feeds them somehow."

"So how does Shadow cope? You'd have to be angry or sad all the time for him to survive wouldn't you?"

"I don't know. We know so little about the Grimm their very mechanics remain a mystery. And then there's Shadow who completely shatters whatever rules have been established for Grimm. He's so much more tuned in to all sorts of emotions. He can still detect the more negative, nut instead he's more drawn to the positive. Maybe he's able to draw energy from all forms of emotion. I don't know. Shadow is…"

"Different?"

"Special." I correct.

"Yeah, he is pretty unique. Then again so is his owner." Zweii laughs.

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult."

"Compliment, Mister Grimm warrior." He says laughing again. "Hey do you think that maybe Shadow was drawn to you because of your armor?" My partner asks.

"Definitely not. I was young when I found him. Back then I didn't have the armor. I hadn't even learned my great grandfather's secret technique." I answer.

"So what, it was just some kind of connection with each other?"

"Hmm. I don't know about connection. Maybe more like common ground. Maybe we just both knew what it's like to be treated as a monster all our lives." I say, making him stop for a second.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Still, it must not be easy for you to talk about your past so lightly. Especially that."

"I've lived with it for a very long time. It just gets easier over time. Especially when I have a group of friends that treat me like an equal." I say turning to give him a smile. "Zweii, I may have my secrets and I may not always tell them to anyone right away, even friends sometimes. But it's not because I don't trust you. It's just my defense mechanism."

"What do you mean?"

"I hide things to keep myself safe. It's all I've ever really known. Even my Semblance is designed to hide me away from the cruelness of the world." I explain.

"But you don't have to hide anymore. You have us now. You know that right?"

"I do, and I'm very grateful for that. I'm through hiding all the time. Still, there are, and may be things I still cannot tell even you. If that happens, all I ask is that you trust me to tell you when the time is right."

"As long as you have good reasoning, I will not pry. We all have things like that from time to time."

I nod in agreement. But besides my crush on Ruby and my great grandfather's technique, I have nothing to hide.

We reach Shadow's den, a small dug out enclosure beneath one of the many trees of the Emerald Forest. Something's off though. There were more claw marks on the base of the tree, some of them bigger than Shadow's. And they were fresh.

"I'll take a look inside. You watch out for possible Grimm." I tell my partner, before crouching down to the entrance of Shadow's humble abode. I try looking around inside. "Shadow?" I call. As I look around and find nothing I leave the entrance. "He's not here" I inform.

"Well then where else can he be?" Zweii asks.

"I don't know. He's still an animal. He should be here to avoid the snowstorm."

"Let's call the others. Maybe one of them as seen him." Zweii proposes.

"Right." I pull out my scroll but find a no service sign flashing on the main screen. "Or not. There's no signal."

"The storm must be interfering with the signal."

"Great. Now how are we supposed to contact them?" I ask.

_'__Ace, Zweii, can you hear me?" _Dez asks through his mental link.

_'__Yeah we hear you. What's up?' _I respond.

_'__The scrolls are dead. This is the only way I could contact you.'_

_'__Yeah we noticed. Good thinking.'_ Zweii commends.

_'__We haven't found Shadow yet, but we heard some Beowolves howling close to the far end of the forest. They sound angry. Almost as if they were hunting something.'_

_'__Shadow!' _I exclaim. _'Dez, we're at Shadow's den right now. There's claw marks not belonging to him carved into the tree. I'm willing to bet they belong to those Beowolves and that they are hunting Shadow.'_

_'__But why would they do that?' _Matt asks joining the now four way connection.

_'__Different packs of Grimm don't always get along. It's not uncommon for them to fight for territory.' _I explain.

_'__True, but Shadow doesn't belong to a pack. He's a pet.'_

_'__They probably caught the scent of humans on him. Guess they know he'd rather side with humanity than his own kind.' _I reason. _'Dez, get everyone together. Tell them to head towards the other side of the forest.'_

_'__Got it. I'll spread the message. See you soon.'_

With that he disconnects the link.

"Let's hurry. The sooner we find him the sooner we get on the airship." I state, running towards our new destination.

"You need to stop worrying about it. It's not the end of the world if we miss it. Besides it's only been fifteen minutes." Zweii assures me.

"Well let's not waste any more time."

We take off in a sprint through the forest. After a little while we run past the Temple from imitation and meet up with Matt and Dez.

"Wow. You guys got here fast." Matt says, impressed with our speed.

"Ace is very determined right now." Zweii huffs.

"I bet. The others aren't far off from here. They should be here soon." Dez informs.

"Let them catch up. I'm going to find Shadow now." I state.

"Ace, wait!" Zweii shouts, but I ignore him. I can't wait. Not if Shadow's in danger. Even from a distance away I can still hear Matt and Zweii.

"Let him go. He'll be fine." Matt says.

"Ugh, why does he have to run off recklessly?" Zweii asks.

"He's just worried. If you were in Shadow's position, he wouldn't wait for anyone."

_'__Thanks Matt. No force on Remnant would stop me either.'_

I breach the other end of the forest, finding a small clearing with ancient structures, parts of man kind's first civilizations made to combat the Grimm. Dead ahead is a pack of Beowolves six members strong led by an Alpha. In front of them is Shadow trying to out run them.

I grab Lunar Fang, with anger coursing through my veins. The pack was chasing him to the canyon side. There would be nowhere else to run past there. I see Shadow reach the edge, turning around to face his pursuers.

Growling at each other, they get ready to fight. Shadow's strong and intelligent, but he can't take all of them at once. Good thing he won't have to.

"HEY!" I yell making the blade turn toward me. I point my blade at them. "Leave. Him. Alone."

The Alpha howls in challenge of me.

"Oh no. You do not want to do that." I warn.

The Beowolves charge towards me, completely forgetting their previous target. I run towards them to fight.

"I'm going to enjoy putting you down you mongrels." I seeth angrily.

The minor Beowolves lead the attack, the common tactic used by packs. The first Beowolf comes in with a swipe which I block with the broad side of my blade, quickly sweeping the sharp edge through its midsection cutting it in half.

The second and third of the creatures decide to double team, taking either of my sides. The closest lunges at my left side, which I roll away to my right to avoid, putting me in the path of its partner. With an upward arc I cut through its right side all the way up to its left shoulder. Keeping my momentum, I turn facing the second Beowolf, before taking off its head.

The fourth Beowolf springs into action charging head on. With a low sweep I take its legs out from under it before kicking it upwards with my right foot. I turn Lunar Fang to its shotgun form and shoot it out of the air.

The Alpha and its last underling attack in tandem, the lesser beast in front. It lunges just to get its head blown off by shotgun rounds. The Alpha is more successful and leaps into the air slamming into me with full force. Lunar Fang is knocked out of my hands as I'm pinned, landing right beside me.

The Alpha swipes its claws at my chest, but my Death Stalker armor piece repels the attack without taking so much as a scratch. It keeps trying to break through but to no avail.

"What's the matter? Can't cut through Death Stalker bone?" I mock.

I channel a small amount of aura around my right fist and aim for its face. My punch connects with its eye. I continue bludgeoning its left side until its eye ruptures from the impact.

Howling in pain, the Alpha rears back, distracted by the loss of half its vision. I grab Lunar Fang, turning it back into blade form and running it through its chest. I push upwards getting back on my feet. I shout as I push the beast backwards, pinning it to a tree with my blade. It frantically claws at the steel penetrating its body, unable to remove it or reach me. I stare at it into its one good eye with anger.

"Your first mistake was attacking my friend. Too bad it will be your last." I growl, twisting the blade in its body, causing it to whimper in pain, or even fear. Satisfied, I end its miserable life by ripping the blade upwards, tearing through its vitals with a sickening noise. The beast dies on my sword before I pull it out.

It's then I notice I have an audience. Everyone was staring at me, shocked at what they just witnessed.

_'__Dust. I guess I went a little berserk back there.'_

"Hey guys… Um how long have you been standing there?" I ask nervously.

"Long enough." Matt replies. "You okay?"

"Yeah… Yeah I'm fine."

Shadow comes running up to me excitedly.

"Hey boy. I was worried about you. Sorry I took so long. How are you? They didn't hurt you did they?"

He replies with a happy yap. He doesn't appear to be injured.

"That's good. They can't bother you anymore. I made sure of that." I say glancing at the disintegrating bodies. He wags his tail happily. "Come on. I have more people for you to meet." I say as we walk towards the group.

"Is that Shadow?" Ren asks curiously.

"Yep. JNPR, Yang, meet Shadow."

"H-Hello." Jaune greets nervously.

"Oh Jaune. Man up and pet him you big baby." Yang says.

"Right." He says reaching his hand out slowly to pet him.

Just as he is about to reach him, Shadow yaps impatiently startling him.

"Ahh!" Jaune yells as he falls backwards on his rear.

"Oh Jaune, he's just saying hello." I laugh.

"Couldn't he have done it a little quieter?" Jaune groans. Shadow responds by licking his face, earning a smile from the blonde knight.

"I must say this is rather unexpected." Pyrrha says, also smiling. "As I said before, you really are full of surprises."

"Oh, oh! My turn, my turn!" Nora pipes up, giddy with excitement.

She runs up to Shadow without fear. He can sense her excitement and starts wagging his tail furiously, just like when he wants to play.

"Oh my gosh! He's so fluffy." She coos petting his side.

Shadow runs behind her and moves underneath her, mounting her on his back before running around.

"Yee- Haw!" She yells as he runs around carrying her.

"Well that's… New." I say watching the two. Grimm are naturally much stronger than the animals they resemble, but I didn't expect Shadow to carry a grown teenager on his back with such ease.

"He's never done this before?" Ren asks.

"No. Guess there's a first for everything. That and he really likes Nora apparently."

"Aww. I like you too." Nora says hugging the back of his head.

"Alright we found him. Thanks for the help guys."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Dez asks rhetorically.

"We still have half an hour before the airship leaves. Let's hurry."

* * *

With Shadow now joining us, we race back to Beacon, and the airship, so we can begin our winter vacation.

After getting our stuff from our rooms, we all run outside to the pickup point. When we arrive, we are immediately confused as to what we see, or rather what we don't see.

"Um guys? Where's the airship?" Jaune asks.

"I don't know. It should still be here." I answer dumbfounded.

"We still had time. We were supposed to go home." Ruby points out.

"I'm afraid none of you will be going home, Miss Rose."

We all turn around to find the Headmaster standing behind us with professor Goodwitch.

"Professor Ozpin. What do you mean we can't go home?" I ask worriedly. "Where's the airship?"

"The airship has already left. We're all to remain here for the break." He explains.

"But why?"

"The pilot deemed the weather too dangerous to wait for the previously established time. We couldn't risk anything happening to the students in this storm and we could not locate you." As if to emphasize his point an even stronger gale blows through, chilling us even more.

"I had to find Shadow. He was attacked in the forest." I explain uncloaking Shadow. I had planned on getting him on board and cover him with a blanket so he wouldn't be found out.

"I see. That explains your absence, but does not explain why the rest of you are also late."

"We were helping him find Shadow. We chose to stay with him Sir." Zweii reports. Ozpin nods at this.

"We tried contacting you but the signal tower is currently disabled due to the cold." Ozpin continues.

"So is that why you are both still here as well?" Blake asks.

"Yes Miss Belladona. Ozpin and I need to fix the tower after the storm passes." Glynda answers.

"Besides, someone has to keep an eye on you twelve." Ozpin grins.

"Sir the storm is getting even closer. We should retreat to the school." Glynda states.

"Yes. Come on then. Better to be in there than out here. Mister Wolfblade, your pet can stay with you in your dorm provided he does not cause any problems." He adds turning towards me.

"Thank you professor Ozpin."

As we walk into the school I can't help but feel disheartened. Not only did I not get to go home, but my friends also can't go home because of me.

"Hey Ace." Zweii calls snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh, what is it Zweii?"

"You're looking kind of down."

"It's all my fault. You're all stuck here because of me." I say glumly.

"We _chose_ to help you. We could have left you to find him yourself but we didn't because we care about the both of you. You can't be faulted for our decisions."

"Yeah Wolfie. If we hadn't stayed you'd be stuck here with the professors all break."

"But what about your families?"

"We don't mind." Ruby assures me. "It's one break. They'll understand."

"I wasn't looking forward to going back home anyway." Weiss adds. "More time away from them is a plus in my book."

"Yeah, I don't think they'll miss me much." Jaune says scratching the back of his head. "My folks have my sisters to entertain."

"As long as I have Ren with me, I'm okey dokie. Nora says hugging the martial artist. "And I can play with Shadow more!"

"Blake what about you?" Yang asks.

"It's fine with me. I didn't have plans anyway." She replies simply.

"I suppose this year, _we're _family." Pyrrha says optimistically.

"Yeah! We can still have an awesome break here!" Ruby cheers.

"See Ace? Nothing to feel sorry for. We're still going to have a great break, but this year, we're spending it together." Matt says smiling.

"Thanks guys. You're the best." I smile.

Maybe getting stuck here wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

**A/N: Wow. A month really flies by fast doesn't it. I'm sorry I didn't get this out any sooner. For all of you out there that have been waiting patiently I thank you. The next chapters will hopefully take less time to complete seeing as Finals are almost over.**

**Regarding the later chapters, I already have the epic five part season finale already completed so expect a month of quick weekly updates soon. Two more chapters and it all kicks off! After that has been released I have the first part of my next project also already completed and will be released the week after. This project still includes my OC's but its going to be a bit different. It will have nothing that will fall into the actual canon of my story. Instead it will be comprised of many humorous miscellaneous adventures including but not limited to; Let's plays, Game immersion, Time Traveling, Body switching, and so much more. These stories will be put out when I need a break to think on my next real chapters and really are going to be a lot of fun.**

**That's all I have to announce for now. If you like what you read, then show me with a like, follow or even a review. Or you can message me privately if you really want to. See ya later guys.**


	20. Chapter 18

**-10° Below Zero: All Out Artic Warfare**

* * *

The blizzard hit, and it hit hard. It had been three days of nonstop wind and ice. As it raged wildly outside, we found ways to occupy our time. There was surprisingly enough to do, especially for me.

I finally had a chance to put a decent dent in the extra assignment Ozpin assigned me. With Shadow living in the room with us for the time being, it was much easier to record behavior. I hope his interactions with the rest of my friends will yield some results. Even with living with him for so long, I still know very little about him. Zweii helped me realize this back in the forest.

It has been interesting to say the least, staying here at Beacon for the break. Everyone seemed happy despite the outcome. Whatever meals we had we were allowed to grab from the well-stocked pantry. Most parts of the school like the library, weapon shop, and training room were left open for us to access. Ozpin pretty much gave us the school to ourselves while he worked on miscellaneous things.

My team and I were playing a few rounds on another of Matt's first person shooters. After a while we noticed something around us was missing. The wind had died down outside.

We stop what we're doing and look out the window. Sure enough the storm had subsided and left us a very white Beacon. It was quiet the sight.

"Well now that the storm is over, wanna check out the snow?" I ask my team.

"Oh heck yes!" Matt answers in excitement. "We can finally go outside for some fun."

"I bet Shadow would enjoy some outside time as well." Dez says, patting the Beowoulf on the head.

"How about it Zweii?" I ask my partner.

"Yay. Snow." He says unenthusiastically.

"Hey what gives? Do you not like snow?" Matt asks noticing the lack of energy behind Zweii's words.

"I like snow fine. I've only lived with it all my life back in Atlas." He replies.

"Oh right… Forgot you have more experience with cold weather than we do." I reply, remembering that small little detail.

"Not only that, but I live in the mountains, which are to the North of the city. There's literally snow there all the time if you don't count summer." Zweii continues.

"There's more to it than that isn't there?" Dez asks as he stops petting Shadow, much to the creature's displeasure.

"Ice is just my counter element, that's all. My semblance is fire based so we don't really get along." The knight explains.

"Well if you don't want to, we don't have to go outside." I state.

"Don't let me stop you. You guys go on ahead. I'll come join you in a little bit."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Go have fun; I'll be out a little later." He confirms.

"Alright then. Come on guys. Shadow, you too bud."

With that we left for the cold outdoors.

When we arrive we find Team RWBY already looking around at our snow covered academy, dressed in more suitable clothes for the cold weather. Matt had also opted to wear his jacket instead of his combat gear. I however was fine in my armor. The scale undershirt is very well insulated. Dez also remained in his gear, but wore a long sleeve shirt underneath for more reliable warmth.

The snow was caked high, almost five feet of it. The statue that stood at the middle of the courtyard now seemed so much shorter, snow almost up to the Grimm at the base. The water was frozen over with thick sheets of ice.

Shadow begins running around, exploring the newly formed tundra. He needs the outside time. He gets pretty miserable being cooped up all the time.

"Talk about your winter wonderland." Yang says as we walk up.

"I have to agree." I hum in agreement. "It is rather nice."

"It's so pretty!" Ruby coos. "Weiss, don't you think it's pretty?" She asks her partner.

"Yes Ruby. It's lovely." Her partner answers with a smile.

"You should feel right at home, huh Ice Queen?" Yang teases.

"Why does everybody keep calling me that?" She asks frustrated. "I am not an Ice Queen!"

"Whoa. Maybe you should _chill_ Weiss." She says grinning. "Otherwise you might have a _meltdown_." Yang snickers at her own puns.

"Dang it Yang." I sigh.

Jaune and the rest of his team walk out and join us as Yang and Weiss calm down.

"Hey guys. You wanted to get out of the room too I see." Jaune greets.

"Well most of us. Zweii didn't want to come out just yet. Snow isn't as exciting to him as it is to us. He'll be out later though." I reply.

"That's too bad." Pyrrha states. " I think snow is rather pleasant."

"Yeah!" Nora chirps. "It's so white, and cold, and fluffy, and you can do so much stuff in it!"

"Ooh, Weiss. Can you help me build a snowman? Please?" Ruby pleads.

"Why not?" Weiss replies.

"Yay! Thank you Weiss!" Ruby says wrapping Weiss in a warm hug.

"Your welcome." The heiress says lightly returning the gesture. "Now let's go build that snowman."

"I bet me and Blake can make a better snowman than you sis." Yang declares. "How bout it Blake?"

"Sure. Sounds fun." Blake says rolling her eyes with a grin, the duo chasing after the rest of their team.

"I have an idea!" Nora shouts to her team. "Come on, I think I know where some shovels are." She states, leading her team for whatever endeavor she came up with.

"Well what are we going to do?" Matt asks.

"I don't know." I answer. "Wait, where's Shadow?" I ask looking around.

My question is answered when I watch him burst upward from the snow below the statue. He had dug under the snow while we were talking.

"So you wanna dig boy?" I ask Shadow.

He answers with a playful bark and a tail wag.

"Alright then. Let's dig!" I shout getting down in the snow, shoveling it out with my hands.

"You two are weird." Dez says jokingly.

"Maybe. I don't know about you, but me and Shadow are going to dig out an ice den." I answer, already halfway under the snow.

"I'm in." Matt states joining our excavation.

"Yeah, me too." Dez says also joining us.

* * *

An hour later and the separate groups were nearing the completion of their various activities. Team RWBY was putting on the finishing touches to their snowmen. Some scrounged up rocks decorated the faces, while they used some twigs that had snapped off the trees due to the high winds for arms.

"There! All done." Ruby cheers after adding the last eye to her and Weiss's snowman. "He came out great didn't he Weiss?" She asks her ivory haired partner, to which responded with a nod.

"Pretty good Rubes, but I think ours definitely beats yours." Yang says confidently, revealing their completed creation.

Ruby and Weiss turn to examine the rival snowman, or rather, snow woman. Yang had decided to give it long hair made of woven twigs. She had been tempted to give it a more girlish figure for its body, but Blake had advised against it.

"You made a snow woman! And is it a Faunus too?" Ruby notes pointing at two snowy triangles sat on top of its head to represent cat ears.

"Yep! I thought it would be an awesome addition to our snow girl here!" Yang states.

"She was just doing it because I'm her partner and she didn't want Faunus to be left out." Blake clarifies, smiling.

"You know it!"

"Nice snow people." Ace says walking up with the Matthew and Dezaryl.

"Thanks." The girls respond in unison.

"So what have you three been up too?" Yang asks.

"Not much." Ace answers. "Have you seen JNPR around?"

"They're over there, but we don't know what they're doing." Ruby says pointing at a mountain of snow behind them a few yards.

"Wonder what they're doing with all that snow." Matt says.

Just then Ruby and Yang look at each other in with mischievous grins. With a nod they crouch down scooping up some snow into their hands. With a quick fling, the clumps of snow were thrown onto the unsuspecting Team AZRE, or ARE since they were still missing a member.

The snowballs hit their targets square in the chest causing the team to look at their attackers. Ruby and Yang were laughing while Weiss and Blake were trying to politely hold back a few snickers.

"Very funny." Ace says sarcastically, wiping snow of his chest plate.

Suddenly both teams were hit with snowballs from where JNPR was. They turn to see the team atop their newly constructed snow fort, with Nora in front. Each of them had snowballs primed and ready to be thrown.

"Ha Ha! I'm queen of the snow hill; I'm queen of the snow hill! And there's nothing you can do to stop me or my snow generals!" Nora chants happily overlooking the opposing teams.

"That's what you think!" Ruby challenges.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Matt shouts readying ammo of his own.

"Attack!" Ace shouts before throwing a snowball up at JNPR. They duck behind cover to dodge and begin raining snowballs upon the others to start the war.

Snowballs flew back and forth between the groups. Try as they may, both RWBY and ARE couldn't land a single snowball, while JNPR had a serious advantage of cover and high ground, mercilessly pelting their enemies.

"We need some cover!" Yang shouts, barely dodging another snowball.

"I can do that." Weiss says forming four glyphs to protect them from the onslaught of snow.

"_Ice_ thinkin Weiss!" Yang says, smiling at her pun. She earns a snowball to the face and a laugh from Nora.

"I can't hold these glyphs forever." Weiss states. "We need a plan of attack."

A stray snowball from JNPR collided into Ruby and Weiss's snowman taking off some of its face and an arm.

"Mister Snowman, no!" Ruby cries as she watches it crumble.

Weiss retaliates by throwing a snowball at Pyrrha. The fiery red head dodges flawlessly. The snowball instead hits Jaune in the face much to her satisfaction.

"Yeah, headshot!" Matt cheers.

It was at this moment Zweii decided to step outside. Immediately noticing the ongoing war, he rushes over to his leader behind a glyph.

"What's going on out here? I was in the room and I heard yelling." Zweii asks.

"Oh, you know, snowball war. JNPR's got us pinned though." Ace explains.

"Then it looks like I got here just in time." Zweii grins.

Pulling out his sword he walks out form the safety of the glyph and stops in the middle of the bunkered down troops.

He transforms Dragon's Wrath into its chain gun form and pushes a button near the trigger. The middle of the turret whirs and a metal cylinder emerges from within, containing the Dust crystal that powers his weapon. Zweii ejects the crystal and swaps it out for a light blue crystal. The mechanism retracts back into the gun, powering it up once more.

"Ha! You think you can take us down!?" Nora mocks.

With a grin he pulls the trigger, making his weapon fire rounds at the base of their fort. Instead of the typical blue energy rounds his gun usually fired, it shot white rounds of super accelerated snow balls.

The rounds bombard the base in rapid succession punching holes out of the structure. After the paladin ceased firing there was a huge hole carved out of the base. It had become unstable and collapsed in on itself, bringing JNPR down with it.

"That was awesome! Nice take down." Ace commends his partner.

"Where did you get that Dust crystal?" Weiss asks.

"I used these all the time back at home. It was always snowing, and when I wasn't training, the other kids and I would have mock wars. We used these Snow crystals as a form of training rounds. Nonlethal but they can cause some damage." Zweii explains. "Why do you ask?" He questions the fencer.

"It's just that the Schnee Dust Company has an extensive research and development team when it comes to Dust. We made crystals of the same properties, but due to lack of demand we scrapped their development. I haven't seen one outside of SDC in a long time."

"Well we sure used them a lot. I brought one just in case something like this happened. I'd say it was very effective."

"That wasn't very nice Zweii." Nora pouts as the rest of her team picked themselves out of the snow.

"All's fair in love and war." Zweii replies simply.

With the main threat neutralized, Ace and Matt turned their attack on Team RWBY hitting them with some sneaky snowballs.

"Hey!" The girls shout.

"Let's make a break for it guys!" Ace says smiling as he and his team retreat to a different location.

"They're getting away!" Ruby says to her team. "We have to go after them."

"Not so fast! You can't beat us that easily! Jaune says preparing the next attack.

"You two go get AZRE. Me and Blake got this." Yang says readying a snowball.

"Okay sis, we'll leave them to you." Ruby says running off with Weiss.

"Oh no you don't! Let's chase after them Ren!" Nora shouts taking off to pursue the fleeing pair.

"Guess it's just two on two now." Pyrrha observes.

"Yep. And there's _snow_ way in _hail_ you de-_sleet_ me and Blake. I'm the champion snowball fighter back in Patch." Yang declares.

"Enough of the awful winter puns Yang." Blake says dead panning.

"Hey! Whose side are you on anyway Blake?" Yang asks feigning hurt.

"Hopefully yours or this fight might be a little one sided." Pyrrha jests.

"We'll see about that." Yang smirks.

* * *

Ruby and Weiss continue their search for Team Azure. They had located their tracks and were quickly following them. Ren and Nora were on their tails the whole way. Abruptly the tracks stopped and so did Ruby.

"Where did their tracks go? They just… vanished." Ruby says looking around.

Indeed the tracks branched off and simply stopped.

Nora and Ren catch up and stop behind the pair.

"Uh Ruby, Weiss. You know you're supposed to be running from us right?" Nora asks.

"Shh. Do you hear that?" Weiss asks scanning the area. Nora and Ren look around as well.

"I don't hear anything." Ren states.

"Precisely. I think we may have walked right into…"

Suddenly a movement in the snow catches her attention. Soon three more movements were noted. The snow bumps upward slowly sliding of the back of Grimm plating. Ace and the others emerge from the snow surrounding the group.

"It's an ambush!" Ruby cries, but it was far too late.

"Open fire!" Ace shouts as they pelt the group from every direction.

"Yeah! Sneak attack!" Matthew shouts.

After the depleted their ammo the group once again runs off, performing a well-planned hit and run.

"Dang it! I can't believe we fell for that!" Ruby pouts.

"We must get them! For our honor as Hunters!" Nora shouts.

"Yeah but first I need a break." Weiss states.

"Agreed." Ren replies sitting down.

Soon Blake and Yang walk up to the resting party.

"Hey guys." Yang greets them. She notes that they are covered in snow. "What happened to you guys?"

"Ace and the guys set a trap for us." Ruby says resting her chin in her hands.

"Don't worry little sis. We shall avenge you." Yang says comforting her. "Onwards to battle Blake!"

"Hey wait for us! Ruby says, getting up and following, with Weiss Nora and Ren in tow.

"By the way, what happened with Jaune and Pyrrha?" Ren asks the blonde.

"We beat them so bad." Yang answers. "And I may have hit Jaune below the belt, so they're sitting out for a while." She adds sheepishly.

"To be fair it was an accident." Blake assures them.

The group arrives at the statue, where Ace and the others were located before the battle. In the open were Matthew and Zweii talking amongst each other. They turn when they notice they had been found.

"Wow. We thought you guys would be fighting each other, not chasing us." Zweii says smugly.

Yang packs a huge amount of snow into a giant snow ball and lifts it over her head.

"You guys have nowhere to go now. Say your prayers boys." She says as she steps closer.

Suddenly the snow shifts under her feet and the floor caves in underneath her causing her to fall waist deep into snow. Her own snowball drops onto her head exploding over her.

"What the heck happened?" She asks angrily.

Zweii and Matthew start laughing hysterically at her misfortune.

"Did you enjoy your fall Yang?" Matthew asks.

"Yeah but this winter is the _pits_, if you ask me." She huffs.

Blake and Ren step forward to attack. As they approach closer, something grabs at their feet and pulls them under the snow. Ace emerges from where Blake had stood not two seconds ago and Dezaryl emerge from where Ren had been, once again having concealed themselves in the snow.

"Wow Blake. I guess you fell for our _Ace in the hole_." Zweii says to the Faunus girl.

"Now you guys are stealing my jokes!? What treachery is this!?" Yang shouts from the snow pit.

"While you guys were off building forts and snowmen, we were digging tunnels in the snow." Dezaryl explains. "We figured we could use them for another trap. Looks like we were right."

"Dez you're going to pay for that!" Nora says chasing off the archer.

Those remaining at the new battle ground began once again throwing a volley of snowballs at each other. Shadow emerges from the subterranean den and casually walks out of the area, disturbed by the noise interrupting his nap.

Nora corners Dezaryl by a nearby tree. He doesn't have a way out this time.

"Hey Dez~!" Nora chirps menacingly. She raises the shovel she had used to build the fort and threw it against the tree. The collected snow in its branches dumped onto Dezaryl covering him in a pile of powder. "That's for pulling Ren under the snow AND freezing me during the capture the flag training!" She beams happily, satisfied with her long awaited revenge.

"You're seriously still sore about that?" Dezaryl asks shaking off the snow. "I said I was sorry." He mumbles.

"And now were even." She grins. "Come on let's go back to the others."

"Sounds good."

As they returned to the group so did Jaune and Pyrrha. The fight had broken out into a free for all. Even the teams were firing at their own members. Silently they were being observed from a short ways away.

Ozpin and Glynda were observing the fight. It was nice to see the students enjoying themselves. After all, life was not always so peaceful. One day they would be challenged with the task of keeping humanity safe as professional Huntsmen and Huntresses. For now they were still young and needed to have fun while they could.

Shadow slowly walks over to Glynda's side sitting down. She gives a small but brief smile in acknowledgement. A stray snowball flies past almost hitting Ozpin. The headmaster shows little concern and simply sips from his mug. Glynda was not as fortunate as a snowball hits her square in the face.

Everyone freezes as they watch the professor wipes the snow. Ozpin merely grins at what was about to happen.

Goodwitch grabs her crop and using her abilities summons the snow around making a spinning whirlwind of snow around the students. Snow flies at them from within the cylinder in an unstoppable fury. The snow is pulled behind and around the sorceress before being launched in a massive wave covering every last one of them in huge pile.

Glynda adjust her glasses and smiles.

One by one the children crawl out of the debris, brushing themselves off.

"Well guys, I think we just got _schooled_ by Goodwitch." Yang grins. Everybody throws snow at her to silence her ceaseless puns. She giggles to herself through the snow, causing a contagious fit of laughter to spread to each of the others.

"I think it's about we head inside and warm up." Ace says his breath visible in the cold.

"I'll make some hot chocolate for everyone." Ren says.

"That sounds great right now." Ruby replies.

"Hey Yang. Race you to the inside." Matthew shouts.

"You're on metal head!" Yang shouts back already catching up.

"Goofs the both of them." Ace smirks.

"Yeah." Ruby laughs in agreement.

"Well we better get back to fixing the communication tower." Ozpin says. "See you all later."

"Come on. We better get in there before those two get impatient." Ace says leading the way with Ruby at his side.

* * *

_Ace…_

* * *

We walk inside, finally escaping the cold and entering the warmth of Beacon. Before we get to far Matt and Yang stop us just after the door wearing massive grins.

"What's got you two in such a good mood?" I ask.

"Not much, but you and Ruby might want to look up." Matt replies as Yang points upward.

When I look up my eyes widen at what I see.

"You guys are under the Mistletoe. You know the rules!" Yang shouts. "You two have to kiss, for five seconds, on the lips." She elaborates.

I stare back at Ruby nervously. She too looks nervous. I begin to panic.

_'__This is like a dream come true and my worst nightmare all at once. I'm going to kill both of them.'_

"What's the matter Wolfie? It's not like you've never kissed a girl before." She laughs.

"…"

"Oh my Dust… You haven't have you?" She asks. "This is your first kiss ever?"

"N-No… I haven't." I confirm. I had never been close enough to anyone to have my first kiss.

"W-Well if it makes you feel any better, this is my first kiss too." Ruby reveals. My heart stops right then and there.

_'__Oh. My. Dust. Scratch that. Obliterate Yang and Matt.'_

"You'll both be fine. What's a little kiss among friends?" Matt asks.

_'__Ooh if only you knew.'_

Ruby and I lock eyes for a second before closing them and leaning in closer to each other.

_'__Here goes nothing.'_

Our lips find each other, hers soft and warm. I feel like lightning is coursing through my body. The mere five seconds feels like an eternity as we kiss. A blissful and heavenly eternity.

I hear a snap of a scroll camera, instantly breaking both out of the unexpected kiss. We both turn to see Yang and Matt holding their scrolls, one of them recording us, the other taking a photo.

I blush and turn away from Ruby.

"I-I'm sorry about, you know…" Ruby says awkwardly. "I'm sure it wasn't how you expected it to be…"

"No. It wasn't. But it… It was still nice." I say to the young girl. It wasn't a lie, but it still wasn't a full truth. It was better than I ever imagined.

"Yeah. It was nice, though completely surprising. Speaking of which…" She says turning to her sibling. "YANG! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW. I ALMOST CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT TO US!" She shouts chasing after the blonde with the intent to kill.

Jaune grabs the Mistletoe and hangs it over his head, leaning close to Weiss.

"Hey Snow Angel, why don't we share a kiss." He suggests with his usual smooth smile.

Weiss glares at him intensely before uttering a resounding "No", causing him to sigh in defeat.

"Well if she won't oblige I will." Pyrrha says giving Jaune a swift peck on the cheek causing him to blush.

Everybody heads off to the dorm rooms after that for some rest. Everyone but Weiss, Blake, and myself.

"You looked like you really enjoyed that." Weiss says folding her arms, wearing a smile.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But I suppose you both already knew that didn't you." I reply.

"How was it?" Blake asks curiously.

"Amazing." I sigh.

"Ace, this has to stop. You have to tell her." Blake says carefully. "You can't keep going on like this."

"I know. But I can still try." I reply flatly.

"You're a hopeless romantic, you know that?" Weiss scoffs. I nod in response.

"You told me long ago to allow myself to be happy. When are you going to follow your own advice Ace?" Weiss asks me before her and Blake head off to join the others.

I sigh once more as a walk slowly to the dorms as well.

"First kiss huh?" I hear Zweii say as I move past a nearby pillar making me jump. I look behind me to see him leaned back against it with his arms crossed and holding a straight face.

"Yeah? So what if it was?" I huff indignantly.

"This wouldn't perchance be one of those things you aren't telling us you mentioned in the forest, would it?" He asks making me freeze.

"What are you talking about?"

"The others may not have noticed, but I did. I saw how you reacted when you realized you had to kiss her. Noticed how you blushed at her contact."

"It was just… I didn't…"

"I also overheard you, Weiss and Blake talking. Not everything but I get the picture. There's no use hiding it from me anymore."

"… So what are you going to do about it?" I ask.

"It's not my business to do anything." He replies.

"You're not going to tell anyone?"

He shakes his head. "That's for you to do. But Weiss and Blake are right. You can't keep doing this forever. Something's going to give sooner or later. You should tell Ruby how you feel."

"I'm sorry… But I can't."

"I understand. But in time you will." He says walking with me back to the room. "I just hope it's soon. For your sake and for hers." He grins.

The rest of the walk was left in silence. We rejoin the others out in the hallway.

"GUYS! I just realized something!" Ruby says excitedly. "It's Christmas eve tonight! Tomorrow is Christmas!" She says jumping up and down.

"She's right." Jaune says checking the calendar in their room. "Christmas is tomorrow."

"Did anyone get gifts for each other?" Matt asks.

"I did! Well for my team at least." Ruby answers.

"We all got our shopping done before we were supposed to leave for home." Yang states. "Beats looking for stuff at the last minute."

"We all went shopping as well." Pyrrha says, referring to her and her team.

"So did we." Zweii states.

We had all set out to the city for Christmas shopping before the break. I kept mine hidden in my luggage.

"We should all open gifts together tomorrow." Ruby suggests. "I wonder if Ozpin would let us decorate a tree."

"Wonder no more Miss Rose." Ozpin says walking up with Goodwitch. His timing is impeccable.

He leads us to the Ballroom. Various festive decorations were strewn around, ranging in colors from red, gold, silver, and green. On one side was a tree fully decorated from top to bottom, a red and white skirt wrapped around the bottom.

"I figured since you children were going to spend Christmas together, you'd need somewhere to do so together. So Glynda and I decorated the room for all of you." He smiles.

"Wow! It's perfect." Ruby says looking around. "When did you do all this?"

"We had some time to spare during the blizzard. After the headmaster finished his paperwork of course." Goodwitch answers giving a glance at Ozpin.

"Alright! This rocks!" Yang cheers.

"Thank you professors. You've done so much for us." I say gratefully.

"It was hardly anything of the sort." Glynda says. "It's only a few decorations after all."

"Not just this, I mean everything. Staying behind and looking after us while we're all here. It's very kind."

"He's right." Ren says. "You didn't have to do that for us, but you did anyway. We're all very thankful."

"You're all welcome." Goodwitch replies with a small smile.

"We should bring our gifts for each other here and open them in the morning." Jaune says.

We all leave for our rooms again and bring back our gifts, placing them under the tree.

"Well, see you guys tomorrow morning." Matt says walking out.

With a few goodnights being exchanged we return to our rooms for the last time today.

As we turn in for the night I think back to the kiss earlier. I'm still mad that Matt would do something so foolish to me, but at the same time I guess I'm grateful. I got to experience such joy. I was able to have what I desired most, even if only for a moment.

If only for first and final time.

* * *

**A/N: What's this? Christmas in May? An onslaught of horrible Yang puns? (Not sorry by the way.) Another chapter in a month!? What is this the apocalypse!? Crazy I know. This has been long overdue, but the Christmas special is happening. I probably won't have a chapter next weekend though, seeing as It's my Birthday! Hitting 21 on the 24th! So consider this chapter as a small, early gift from me to all of you!**

**You know the drill people. If you like what you're reading, give a like or a review. It would be most appreciated.**


	21. Chapter 19

**A Very Merry Christmas: The Warm Beginning of a New Year**

* * *

Morning had finally come. The sunlight broke through the windows filling the room with its illuminating beams.

I instinctively shift in the bed turning to face the wall, trying to avoid the warm light threatening my comfortable sleep. Mornings are definitely not my thing. I'd rather be left in my nice comfortable bed.

Of course other people have different ideas this Christmas morning.

"Ace… Ace wake up." I hear Matt say breaking the tranquility of the room. He starts pushing on my back, in attempt to get me up.

"No. I'm sleeping." I grumble, pulling the covers over my head.

"Ace it's time to get up. We have to go meet up with the others."

"Go away Matt."

"If you don't get up on your own I'm going to have to make you myself." He threatens.

"Bite me." I sigh burying my head into my pillows.

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." He chuckles.

"Ace still not up?" I hear Dez ask Matt.

"He's up but he's being lazy and refuses to get out of bed."

"I don't think I know anyone that sleeps more than him."

"Don't worry. I have experience getting him up." Matt says confidently.

I hear Matt whispering something into Dez's ear. Even with my enhanced hearing I can't make it out. Doesn't matter though. Nothing Matt can do will get me up right now.

It's then I hear both of them walk up to the bed.

"On three then." Matt says.

"One… Two… Three!" The both shout in perfect sync.

I feel the bed being flung upward on one side, causing gravity to slide me off the bed and dropping me onto the floor.

Okay, almost nothing he did was going to get me out of bed.

"Alright! I'm getting up!" I shout in annoyance from my position on the hard floor.

I can hear both of them laughing with each other at my expense. I poke my head over the side of the bed with a frown.

"You know that counts as mutiny in my book." I state, glaring at them before letting off a long yawn.

"I warned you." Matt says shrugging.

"Dare I ask what time it is?" I question, folding my arms.

"7:30 in the morning." Dez answers with a grin.

"I was afraid of that." I groan.

"Well I know what will make you feel better. Opening presents with your friends. Come on. Zweii's already up and going." Matt says leaving the room in a hurry.

I shake my head with a smile at his eagerness. Better get down there I suppose.

As I make my way to the Ballroom, I see Ruby and Nora flying down the hall, catching up with Matt. I see their respective teams slowly follow after. Weiss and Pyrrha both looked half asleep, no doubt having been subject to similar rude awakenings.

"You too?" I ask as they walk up beside me.

"Ruby insisted on being up early so we could get there first. Such a child." Weiss sighs.

"You're lucky. Nora barely slept all night. She was way too excited." Pyrrha says with a yawn.

"I can beat that. Half my team catapulted me off my own bed."

"I'm so sorry." Pyrrha apologizes.

"One thing's for sure. I'm getting some coffee before any of this." Weiss states.

"You said it sister." I say in agreement, giving the ivory haired girl a tired fist bump.

"Coffee sounds like a grand idea." Pyrrha adds.

After acquiring our drinks, we join up with the rest of the group. They were gathered around the tree in a half circle arc. Each of our teams were sat next to each other with spots left vacant for us to fill. Shadow sat on the far end of my team.

I take my seat next to my partner, carful as to not spill my coffee. I take a small drink from my mug before placing it out of the way.

"I figured you children would be up this early." We hear Ozpin state as he walks in with Glynda.

"Good morning professors." We all say greeting them politely.

"You weren't going to start without us now were you?" He asks jokingly.

"Of course not. After all, we're all family this year." Matt answers.

"Yeah. Oz is the fun coffee loving uncle, and Goodwitch is the stern but cool aunt." Yang mocks. This causes us all to laugh.

I can see Ozpin wearing a bright smile, while a completely stunned Goodwitch stood next to him gawking, with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Well now that we're all here, I suppose we should get started." Jaune states.

"Yeah but how are we going to do this?" Ren asks, bringing a very good point to our attention.

"I propose we go in order of how we are seated, starting here with Blake, who will give her presents to their respective recipients, and ending with Matthew." Weiss says pitching her idea.

"Sounds good, but why do you four get to start?" Dez asks.

"Because it was my idea." Weiss states smugly.

"Fair enough." Dez replies. "Alright Blake, get us started then."

The Faunus girl nods and moves to the tree pulling out the gifts for her team.

She gives a large golden bag to Yang and a red box to Ruby. Oddly she doesn't give anything to Weiss. Instead she whispers something into her ear and the heiress nods with a smile.

"I hope you like them." Blake tells the other two, who already have begun unwrapping their gifts.

Yang pulls out a new jacket with her name sown onto the right side of her chest. On the left was her symbol. On the back in bold flaming letters it said "I Burn".

"Blake this is awesome. Did you get this custom made?" She asks as she examines the clothing more.

"I did." She answers simply.

"Oh Blake! You're the best partner I've ever had."

"I'm the only partner you've ever had." She corrects, rolling her eyes. "I'm glad you like it."

Ruby pulled out a book out of the scraps of red paper that had been concealing it. Her eyes went wide when she looked at the title.

"Wow Blake. Thanks so much!" She says hugging the ebony haired girl.

"You're welcome Ruby. I remembered how much you said you loved those old fairytales Yang used to read to you, so I found the largest collection behind a hard back cover."

"Alright! My turn!" Yang says quickly grabbing the presents for her team. She hands both Blake and Ruby small boxes. Again no gift for Weiss.

Blake opens her box and pulls out a small black and gold ribbon. She stares at it before looking at Yang who's smiling warmly at her.

"It's a new bow. You know so you have a little more variety." She says before putting on a more serious expression. "But I don't want you wearing it because you think we want you to. We love you for who you are Blake. Maybe one day you'll be able to go without the bow."

Blake starts tearing up, giving Yang a hug.

"Thank you Yang. It's wonderful." Blake says happily.

What a thoughtful gift for Yang to give her. The bow is nice, but the compassion and understanding is probably worth so much more to Blake.

"Yang!" Ruby shouts excitedly drawing our attention. "You got me the newest Achievemen album?!"

"Yep! Merry Christmas little sis!" Yang answers giving Ruby a huge hug.

"Yang… Need… Air." Ruby croaks in the blondes strong embrace. Yang lets her go scratching the back of her head with a grin.

"I believe it's my turn then." Weiss states calmly retrieving three large bags. She hands the first to her leader.

Ruby pulls out the paper and her jaw practically hits the floor. She pulls out a large package of the finest grade of black dust. It's exceedingly powerful and very expensive.

Ruby pulls out another box filled with silver bullet casings. Attached to the front of the box is a 3 year subscription to Weapons Monthly.

"Oh my Dust! Weiss, this is incredible. The dust alone must have cost a fortune!" Ruby cries in delight.

"A small amount to me really. You forget I _am_ the heiress to the richest dust company in Remnant." She scoffs.

"Yeah I know. It's just that most times I don't see you that way. I just see you as my best friend Weiss." Ruby says sincerely.

Weiss gives her a curt hug for her words.

"And that's what makes you my best friend." Weiss smiles.

She turns her head slightly unnoticed by anyone, giving me a quick wink. I nod in response. She really has come a long way since our talk.

"This one is for you Yang." She informs the blonde.

Yang unwraps a large supply of hair care products. A very nice brand in fact.

"Aw Weiss! You do like my hair!" Yang teases.

"If you insist on keeping that mop you pass off as your hair, then I will see that you take care of it properly." Weiss informs.

"Thank you very much. That was real _Weiss_ of you." Yang sneers.

"Way to kill the moment Yang." Ruby deadpans.

"Finally this one is for Blake." She says handing out the final gift.

Blake sifts through the paper finally finding her prize. She reveals a collection of four books.

"Weiss, this is the complete set of my favorite book. Thank you." She says with a smile.

Weiss frowns a little.

"Not the complete set. I couldn't find one of the books in the collection." Weiss admits.

Blake looks at her with a confused expression.

"But there are only four books so far." She states.

"Look at the last book."

Looking down at the fourth book, Blake's eyes go wide as saucers.

"This is the fifth book in the series. It's not supposed to be available to the public for another year!" She states in disbelief. "How did you get this?" She asks.

"I have connections. It's even autographed by the author." Weiss says with a smile.

"But if you got this one, which one did you not find?" Blake asks.

"The third one. It's the most popular in the series and nobody has it. I'm sorry." Weiss says.

"It's still a wonderful gift Weiss. It means a lot to me coming from you."

"Oh Weiss, Blake. Have I got a surprise for you two!" Ruby says zipping over to the tree and pulling out a black box with a red ribbon.

Blake opens it causing both her and Weiss to look at its contents, then Ruby in shock.

"The third book! Where did you find this?" Weiss asks in amazement.

"It was the last one in the store. It pays to have speed as your semblance. I wouldn't have been able to scoop it up in time without it." Ruby explains happily.

"Thank you Ruby." Blake says holding her new book closely.

"And for my awesome big sister Yang, I got you this." Ruby says pulling out a small heart shaped locket. Yang opens it to find a picture of the two of them together at home. Yang's gaze moves to the other side which held a short inscription.

"No matter how much we grow and change, you will always be my big sister, who I love with all my heart. –Ruby." Yang quotes, reading the text.

"I love it Ruby. But not as much as I love you." Yang says giving her sister a more tender hug.

"Merry Christmas Yang." Ruby says softly.

"That was a very thoughtful gift Miss Rose." Ozpin says grinning at the young leader.

"And we saved the best gift for last." Ruby says running behind the tree and walking over to Weiss with the last gift hidden behind her back. Yang and Blake joined her at her sides.

"Weiss, we really didn't know what to give you for Christmas but I think we came up with a pretty good idea. It's not much, but…" Ruby says starting to explain before Weiss cuts her off.

"You have each already given me more than anyone else. I will like whatever you give me." She assures them.

Ruby pulls out a stocking with "RWBY" embodied on to it. She hands it to Weiss, who reaches a hand in to pull out a white picture frame, decorated with snowflakes. It held a picture of all four of them together.

"No matter what, we hope you always see us as your friends and more importantly your family." Blake says.

"We're always here for you, whenever you need us." Yang adds.

"Sorry if it isn't the best present ever." Ruby says nervously.

"It's perfect." Weiss whispers. "Thank you. All of you."

They end their gift exchange with a group hug.

That means it was the start or JNPR's gift giving. Strangely enough, Ren and Nora both stood up to retrieve gifts.

"Nora and I bought each of your gifts together." Ren explains.

"These are for Jaune." Nora says handing the blond knight two gift cards, one from each of them.

"We weren't sure what you would want. Figured this was the next best option." Ren states.

"Thanks guys. I'll put them to good use." Jaune says in appreciation.

"This if for you Pyrrha." Ren says handing her a gift.

Out of a box, she withdraws a bronze necklace with an ancient look to it. Around the necklace was orangish-red gem stones, five in total.

"It's lovely. Thank you both." Pyrrha smiles warmly.

"They're real by the way. The gems on the necklace are Imperial Topaz." Ren states.

"Those are only mined back home in Mistral." Pyrrha says impressed.

"Yep! We thought they would remind you of home while you're here." Nora says.

"That was very thoughtful."

"Ren, we all got _you_ something together." Nora says happily.

They each grab the green clad warrior's gifts and handed them to him. A new set of cooking supplies. No doubt Nora's idea.

"Much appreciated." He says simply. "I'll be sure to use them soon." He says with a grin.

"And for Nora, we all got you these." Jaune says as they reveal their gifts. Plush Grimm dolls, one of an Ursa, one of a Beowolf, and one of a Nevermore.

She hugs all of the dolls close to her squealing in delight.

"There so soft! Thanks guys!"

"Jaune, this is my gift to you." Pyrrha says holding out a bag for her partner.

Jaune pulls out a new two piece, black and orange pajama set.

"It's time you got some new pajamas Jaune." Pyrrha giggles.

"What's wrong with the one I have now." He asks obliviously.

The sound of Ren's hand smacking his forehead resonated through the room.

"Three little words Jaune. Bunny. Footed, Onesie." Nora says, giving him the perfect reason as to why he needed a change of wardrobe.

"Okay I get it." He says blushing. "Thanks Pyrrha."

"You're welcome Jaune."

"I… I got you this Pyrrha." He says nervously, handing her a pot with a red ribbon around it. Planted within it was a red poinsettia plant.

"Jaune it's…" Pyrrha starts.

"I know. It isn't a whole lot. I just couldn't think of anything to give to someone as amazing as you. Someone like me should only be able to dream of being partners with you. I'm sorry."

"Jaune, don't even think like that. I love it. You know why?" She asks sweetly.

"Uh…"

"It's because you gave it to me as a friend. That's all that matters." She answers.

After that heart felt sentiment it was finally our turn to give out presents. I was the first to start. I walk up to the tree and get each of my teammates their gifts.

"Zweii, These are yours." I say offering him his bag.

He opens the bag and pulls out his first gift.

"Armor polish?" He asks with a grin.

"Can't have my partner's armor getting rusty and dull now can I? Speaking of dull there's something else in there as well." I tell him.

He then pulls out a long block of a grey stone. The stone itself was rough and gritty, perfect for sharpening blades.

"A portable whetstone! Nice. We have an old fashioned one back home but its way too big to carry around. Thanks Ace."

"No problem. Dez this is yours." I say handing him his gift. He unwraps it curiously.

"A new quiver. It's a bit bigger than my current one." He says examining it.

"Don't forget what's inside the quiver." I grin.

He pulls out a new set of arrows, but these were a little different then his usual projectiles.

"Stainless steel tipped arrows. Designed for puncturing tough armor, serrated edges for added damage, and perfectly reusable." I state describing their qualities." I know those Dust arrows aren't cheap, so I made you some new ammo."

"You made these?" He asks.

"And the quiver." I say with a hint of pride.

"Their incredible. You really are a master of your craft." He says looking down the shaft of one of the arrows.

"I try. And here's Matthew's gift." I say handing my friend his present.

He quickly unwraps it and his eyes light up.

"The new game I wanted. You knew exactly what to get me." He says satisfied with his gift.

"Of course I did. You wouldn't be quiet about it so it wasn't hard."

I walk up to Shadow and give him a pat on his head.

"I didn't forget about you boy." I throw him a small ball, which he chases after and brings back, wagging his tail.

"And I have one last special present." I say pulling out a box. I walk over to Ruby and hand it to her.

"For me? Why?" She asks quizzically. Of course I wasn't going to tell her the one hundred percent true reason but that didn't mean what I would tell her would be false.

"Because, aside from my team, you were the first person I became friends with here at Beacon. That night we met in the forest, you told me for the first time I looked like a hero, despite what I wore. I don't know if that's true, but it still meant a lot to me. Then you did something special. You promised me, a complete stranger, your friendship. I just wanted to thank you for that."

She nods with a smile before opening up the gift. She pulls out a large book. On the cover was everyone's symbols.

"What is it?" She asks.

"Open it up." I reply simply. She does, flipping to the first page.

Inside were different photos of our various exploits.

"These are pictures of all of us! It's a photobook." She says in excitement. "Oh, this one is of us during the Halloween party. And this one's from yesterday at the snowball fight." She says pointing out a few. "How'd you get these?" She asks.

"Ozpin let me get them form the security footage. I tell you that was a lot of sifting through data to find them. A few were just off my scroll. But there's even more space for new memories."

"Thanks Ace." She says to me.

"Merry Christmas Ruby."

"My turn." Dez says picking up the last of the packages under the tree. Odd seeing as there are still two more members present that have yet to give gifts.

He hands the first to Matt.

"A new controller for the game console and it's the one I've been wanting. Thanks Dez." Matt says giving him a high five.

"And these are for you two." He says handing me and Zweii a box each. I open mine and find a well-crafted, wooden wolf statuette. Zweii pulled out a similar object but it was a dragon.

"Dez these are really neat. Where did you get them?" I ask.

"I made them. Carved them myself." He answers.

"You made these?" Zweii asks in disbelief. "I never figured you for a whittler."

"Well work wasn't always plentiful when supporting my family so I made these on the side to make some spare Lien." He explains.

"They're great. Thank you." Zweii and I both say.

"Guess it's time for my gift." Zweii says. "Actually it's a gift for everyone and I can't quite give it just yet." He says cryptically.

"Are you going to tell us what it is?" Matt asks.

"If you give me a moment to do so." He replies. "I invite all of you to a special firework display I've put together for New Year's Eve. Of course that means you as well professors." He explains.

"Where'd you get fireworks?" Jaune asks.

"Well we all have our hobbies. Ace is good at making armor and weapons, Dez is good at wood sculpting, and I happen to be proficient in making pyrotechnics."

"Now that is an impressive talent." I state.

"I hope everyone will be in attendance. I promise it will be worth seeing." Zweii says.

"So what about you Matt? Did you do anything special for a gift?" I ask him.

"Yes, but it's a surprise for all of you later tonight." He answers. "Speaking of which I need to get back to working on it so it's ready. Ren, I could use your assistance if you aren't too busy."

"Sure, I can help." Ren says getting up and following him.

"Awesome. See you other guys later." He says leaving with his newly acquired partner.

"Well I guess that's the end of our gift exchange then." I state.

"Not quite." Ozpin states. "We have a gift for all of you. The communications tower is fixed and fully operational. You can call home now. I'm sure your families must be wondering where you all are."

"That's great news!" Ruby exclaims. "Now we can call Dad and Uncle Qrow."

"I should call my folks and let them know I'm okay too." Jaune says.

"Well I'm sure everyone has a lot to talk about with their respective families. We should all call them, and meet back at the dorms until Matt and Ren are done with whatever surprise Matt has in store." Zweii suggests.

"Yeah but who is going to call their families?" Dez wonders.

"I will!" Nora shouts. That was a pretty obvious guess.

"And I will call Matt's family." I say.

"Alright, well that takes care of that." Yang says.

"See you guys after I call home." I say walking off.

"Yep. We can do something when we are all done taking care of business." Zweii replies.

"After we come back for our gifts. We really should clean up the mess." Dez states looking at the scrap covered floor.

"Agreed. See you in a while then." I say before steeping out to make my calls.

I pull out my scroll and dial home. After a few rings the answering machine turns on.

"That's weird. They should be home." I say to myself. Mom manages the phone while Dad works so she should have picked up.

I try again, yielding the same results. This time I leave a short message telling them I'm okay and wishing them a Merry Christmas.

"Well might as well try Matt's parents." I say dialing in a different number. The scroll rings a couple of times before I get an answer.

"Hello?" Came the short greeting from the other side of the line. It's a surprise as to who it is.

"Ashlynn? Is that you? This is Ace." I ask the younger Erthanos sibling.

"ACE!" She shouts excitedly. "Where on Remnant have you and my stupid brother been? We've all been worried about you two!" She states angrily.

"Sorry about that. We missed the flight home for the holidays and we've been stuck here at Beacon in the meantime. The communication tower got knocked out because of the storm so we haven't been able to call since then." I explain.

"Oh okay. That would explain it. Well as long as you two are okay then there's nothing to worry about."

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where my parents are would you? I called home but there was no answer." I ask.

"Sorry Ace. They aren't there right now. They had a supply shipment come in early and they went to get it. Last we checked they were staying at a hotel for a little bit."

"Oh. Well I left a message for them so they would know where we are."

"So was it just you and my brother that were left behind?"

"No the rest of my team as well as two others and two of the professors stayed behind as well."

"Matthew is part of your team? What dumb luck is that?" She laughs. "I bet he isn't making your leader's job very easy."

"Funny thing, I'm his leader." I inform her.

"You were made leader!? That's excellent news. Your parents are going to be so happy to hear that. Has he been giving you grief?"

"No more than usual, though he still isn't making my mornings to great."

"Typical. And people are amazed to hear that _I'm_ the kid sibling." She sighs.

"Only by a year and a half." I chuckle. "So what are your parents up to?"

"They're off taking a walk. They'll be back soon."

"Huh. You'll have to pass on my love then."

"I'll be sure to let them have it. Tell Matt his sister says hey for me."

"Will do. Hope we get the chance to see you all soon."

"Me too. We have a lot more catching up to do. Talk to you later Ace."

"Goodbye." I say before hanging up.

I walk back to the Ballroom and find the most of the others already picking up things and relocating their gifts. I grab mine and walk with Shadow back to the dorm room. I place my gift from Dez on the nightstand.

Shortly after, Zweii and Dez walk in and unload their stuff.

"So you get in touch with your family?" Zweii asks me, placing his own statue next to mine.

"No, but I got in touch with Matt's little sister. My parents had to go attend to some work related business so they aren't home." I answer.

"That sucks." Dez says sympathetically.

"Eh, it's what they do to put food on the table. Can't really fault them for that."

"But doesn't that bother you in the slightest?" Zweii asks.

"Yeah but what am I going to do? Tell them to quit their jobs because I think they work too much?" I ask sarcastically. "Believe me its fine."

"If you say so. Now what are we going to do until Matt calls us?"

"I vote we kick back, relax, and watch a movie." Dez suggests.

"Now that's an idea I can get behind." I say lying back in my bed.

After Zweii sets up an action movie on Matt's portable television, we all settle in, waiting for Matt's surprise to be complete.

* * *

"Hey Ace?" Dez says drawing my attention from the movie.

"Yeah?" I reply simply.

"That was our last movie. We've watched all of the few we had." He says in a very bored tone.

"Yeah, it was. I wonder what's taking Matt so long. We've been watching for hours. It's already getting dark outside"

"Yeah and I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting pretty hungry. Those few snacks we had aren't very filling." Zweii informs.

"Maybe we should go check on him." Dez says getting up and stretching.

"We don't even know where he went." Zweii argues.

"Good point."

As we stood around trying to figure out what to do, a few knocks could be heard on our door. I open the door to find Ren waiting with the others. Glynda and Ozpin were also present and accounted for.

"Matthew sent me to get you guys. He's ready." He informs us.

"About time." Dez huffs.

We follow Ren as he leads us all to the cafeteria. It's then I wonder what Matt could have been doing in here for so long. When we walk in we find Matt standing in front of a collection of tables that had been arranged to seat all of us comfortably. I don't even believe what I see _on_ the tables.

Plates of food covered the table, elegantly displayed in a mouthwatering display. Fresh tossed salad and other steamed vegetables filled sizable bowls. In a few trays were your classic assortments of fruits, cheeses and crackers, as well as bread rolls.

And then there were the main dishes. Ham, beef, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, seared fish, and of course turkey accompanied by gravy and stuffing.

There were several options to choose from for beverages ranging from water, tea, juice, and even a few pitchers of soda.

Lastly were the sweeter dishes, most likely intended to be saved for dessert. Sweet rice with brown sugar, pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream, chocolate pudding, and festive holiday cookies.

"What is all of this?" I ask astounded.

"My surprise for all of you." Matt says with a grin. "A Christmas feast."

"You and Ren, made all of this!?" Yang asks gawking.

Ren shakes his head with a smile.

"Actually Matthew made every last dish. I just helped setup and put on some finishing touches." He explains.

"Matt, since when do you cook?" I ask with interest.

"I started learning a year ago. I figured if I was going to become a Hunter, I should learn how to cook, for when I'm out in the field." He explains. "I took a few lessons, and not only found I enjoyed it, but also that I was actually pretty good, if I do say so myself." He says with a cocky smirk.

"That's… Actually very well thought out… And weird coming from you."

"Thank you very much. Now let's eat. Don't let my gift go to waste."

We all take our seats on either side of the table, Ozpin and Glynda sitting at the head of the table. After grabbing our food we begin eating. It doesn't take long for us to find out that Matthew wasn't joking about his culinary skills.

"Matt. I hate to say this, but you really are a great cook. This food is phenomenal." I compliment after taking a few sample tastes.

"I'm glad that you like it." He replies.

"I must say your salad is rather good. It's so fresh and crisp." Weiss says before continue eating with a look of satisfaction.

"Yeah and this turkey is so good!" Nora says readily consuming her portion of the food.

"No joke. This stuff is to die for!" Yang says in agreement.

"Hmph. I'll be the judge of that." Glynda scoffs. "It can't be that good."

She cuts up a small piece. As soon as it hit her taste buds, her expression of doubt quickly shifts to one of astonishment. Matt stares at her with the same cocky look from before.

"Well?" He asks, patiently awaiting her judgment.

"I stand corrected." She says softly, quickly preparing another piece for consumption. "You did a surprisingly good job."

"I must agree with Glynda. This is one of the finest home cooked meals I've had in a long time." Ozpin states raising his glass. "I propose a toast. To Mister Erthanos, for preparing us this wonderful banquet."

"To Matt!" Everyone shouts in unison. He gives an over exaggerated bow in response to the praise.

"You think that's good, just wait until dessert."

"I don't think we'll have to wait too long." I state looking around at everyone as they start to finish their dinner.

Sure enough, after everyone else had their fill of Matt's main course, dessert followed soon after. Every bit of it was as good as the actual meal. Matt really worked hard on this and it definitely showed.

"Oh man. I'm so full; I don't think I could eat another bite if I wanted to." Yang moans stifling a belch.

"Maybe you shouldn't have had so much stuffing then." Blake says wiping her mouth clean of any lingering food.

"I can't help it if Matt turned out to be a real iron chef." She mumbles.

I turn and see Ruby and Nora sitting back to back on the floor. Apparently their binge on Matt's desserts was affecting them poorly as they moaned, caressing their sweet filled guts.

"Too many sweets girls?" Pyrrha laughs.

"There's no such thing as too much sweets." Ruby declares before looking ill again. "Well… Maybe this time." She admits.

"I think we better get you to bed sis." Yang says helping her younger sister up. "Do you mind if I take her to our room?" Yang asks.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. We can clean all this up no problem." Matt answers.

"Come on Nora." Ren says hoisting the bubbly girl onto his back. "You should turn in for the night as well."

"Alright." She yawns. "See you guys later." She says lazily before passing out on Ren's back.

After cleaning up the rest of the food and silverware, we said our goodnights to each other before returning to our rooms for the night.

The next few days were rather uneventful but of course never unenjoyable. We spent our time playing games inside or enjoying what was left of the snow outside. We also enjoyed the leftover food from Matt's feast. It wasn't all fun and no work though. After all we are Hunters in training. We spent decent time in the training room, to keep up with our lessons and improve teamwork.

Finally the night of Zweii's firework display had arrived. New Year's Eve. With the final preparations taken care of, Zweii had ushered us all to the Ballroom balcony. It was a great spot to watch the show from. You can see most of Beacon from up there, even Ozpin's tower.

I climb up to the higher roof top to get a better viewing area. I sit down, looking to see everyone talking with each other below. As I watch them talk and have a good time, it makes me realize how lucky I am to have them as friends. It's like Pyrrha said. We're like family now, and no matter what, we stick together.

"Alright everybody listen up." Zweii says getting our attention. "It's almost midnight and you know what that means. It's time for me to give you all a proper sendoff into the New Year. So sit back and enjoy the show." He announces pressing a button on his scroll.

The button sent out a signal, activating the firework charges laid out behind the tower. With the sound of faint booms in the distance the night sky was soon illuminated by a red burst of light. Soon followed many other bright colors and even mixed colors of gold and silver.

It was truly marvelous seeing the orange streaks ascending to the heavens before exploding into color. So marvelous I didn't notice my visitor.

"Mind if I sit here?" I hear Ruby ask as she comes closer.

"No, not at all." I reply, motioning for her to sit down.

"It's nice up here. Really good view." She says making conversation.

"Yeah it is nice."

She yawns slightly covering her mouth with her hand.

"Tired?" I ask.

"Yeah. It's a lot later than I usually stay up for." She answers briefly.

We return our attention to the firework show and watch in silence. The simple bursts of color were turning into more intricate designs. I see a Beowolf as well as the other Grimm creatures fill the sky.

"Wow. He did a great job on those fireworks." I comment.

"He sure did." Ruby says in agreement.

I red burst illuminates the sky, but on closer inspection, we realize it was no simple burst. It was shaped like a rose.

"That's my emblem!" She says pointing in excitement before a silver burst forms my own.

"He made each of our emblems it would seem." I comment as Jaune and Blake's soon followed.

There was another brief silence before Ruby spoke up again.

"I really like the present you gave me." She says seemingly out of the blue.

"Oh, good. It was no problem. I just wanted to thank you for, well, everything."

_'__Ugh! Why can't you tell her? Why can't you tell her the truth?'_ I mentally scold myself.

I look away, hiding my frown as the girl of my dreams watches the show in front of us.

_'__Tell her… TELL HER RIGHT NOW!'_

I prepare my nerves as the final fireworks begin to light the sky for a resounding finale.

_'__Here goes everything.'_

"Ruby… I've been needing to tell you something. I… I just wanted to tell you…"

My confession is cut short as I hear a soft breathing next to me. I look over to see Ruby had fallen asleep. I smile a little at her sleeping figure.

_'__At least I tried.'_

"Happy New Year Ruby." I whisper as the last firework fades from the sky.

* * *

**A/N: Bam! Three in month. I think that deserves a medal. I hope to keep my promise and get the next chapter out by Saturday and begin updating weekly for a while. Thanks for the continued support guys. Every Favorite, Follow and Review are greatly appreiated. I'm so happy to have over 5000 Views for my little project.**

**Hope to see you guys next week!**


	22. Chapter 20

**A Hero's Fall: Ace's Decision**

* * *

After a few more days, the Winter Break we had been enjoying had come to an end. Airships were arriving early in the morning with all the other students, and classes would begin again soon. Of course Ozpin allowed an extra days rest for the students to unpack, relax from their trips back, and catch up with their teammates, essentially easing them back into their neglected school routine.

As we walked down the halls, we noted the other teams giving us weird looks. Evidently they had all noticed our absence on the airship. I guess three whole teams being absent on both trips was painfully obvious to everyone.

Much to our disdain, we hear a familiar and irritating voice call out to us.

"Well what do we have here?" Cardin asks intercepting us in the hall with the rest of his team.

"I don't know. Looks like an annoying flock of birds to me." Dez mutters.

"Funny. Almost as funny as what we heard about you twelve." He smirks. "Word is you all missed your flight and were left behind. I could hardly believe it myself but seeing you here while not finding any of you on the ship only proves the rumors to be true."

"Guess the teacher's pets couldn't stand to be apart from their masters. Especially Wolfblade." Russel mocks.

"At least we're here to actually learn to help people." Weiss counters.

"Besides, we had a great time here. Threw our own party in fact. Shame you weren't here." Matt taunts. "Then again we should be so fortunate you weren't around to ruin our fun."

"You shut your mouth!" Cardin yells clearly agitated. "Bunch of freaks."

Yang and I glance at each other, and with a knowing nod walk towards Team CRDL.

"Cardin…" I say as calmly as I can, refusing to look him in the eyes.

"What!?" He roars before Yang and I both clock him in the face sending him flying. His team's cocky expressions switch to ones of shock as their leader lands on the floor in front of them.

"Shut up…" I finish, lowering my fist to my side. "Well I feel better." I smirk.

Just then Professor Goodwitch walks down the hall, her eyes locked on the now knocked out Cardin. She sighs and turns towards us.

"Would any of you care to explain why Mister Winchester is unconscious on the floor?" She asks.

"Just trying to knock some sense into him." Yang says with a sheepish smile.

"Mister Thrush, will you and the rest of your team take Winchester back to your dorm? I have business to attend to with these students."

"Yes." He replies simply as Dove and Sky lift their leader between them and start heading to their room.

"Was that entirely necessary?" She asks after Team CRDL was out of earshot.

"In our defense he was asking for it." Yang replies.

"I still think we should have broken his legs." Nora states.

"In any case, Ozpin would like to see you all in his office. We have a matter we wish to discuss with you."

We follow Goodwitch to the elevator but due to lack of space, went in one team at a time. After we were all present, Ozpin begins speaking.

"First off I would like to thank each of you for coming. With all of the other students resettling into Beacon we figured you twelve would be more suited for what I am about to ask of you. I need you all for an important mission." Ozpin explains.

"Yes! Our first mission! This is going to be awesome!" Ruby cheers.

"Indeed. This is the first official mission you will be receiving and it will begin soon." Ozpin says, drinking from his mug after. "We will be sending you into the Emerald Forest. As you all know, the Emerald Forest is where we hold Beacon's initiation process. Students' skills are tested while establishing partners and teams for the years to come. It's always a fairly challenging process due to the Grimm we allow to live in the forest for its training purposes."

"We remember. So what does this have to do with our mission?" Zweii asks.

"We allow only a select number of Grimm to reside in the forest for the sake of not overwhelming new students during the initiation process, and as such we monitor the forest and surrounding area to keep things in check." Glynda explains.

"However our recent findings have shown that there is an abnormally large increase in the number of Grimm in the forest. These numbers are unsafe and if they are not dealt with they will over run the forest making it too dangerous to send students inside. Your job is to eliminate the extra Grimm that have invaded the forest." Ozpin finishes.

"Invaded? Where did they come from?" Jaune asks.

"We are unsure how or why they have suddenly appeared in such numbers in the forest but we have a hunch that the previous weather may have driven them into this area." Ozpin says pulling up a holographic map of the forest. On the far side was a large red spot signifying the area of the Grimm.

"So what exactly are we dealing with here?" I ask. "Surely you have data on the types and numbers of Grimm you expect us to eliminate."

"The reports show sizable packs of Beowolves and Ursi moving in from the north east, while Nevermores approach from the north side."

"Nevermores? Well this should be fun." Yang states sarcastically.

"Not to worry Miss Xiao Long. The Nevermores you will be dealing with are far smaller than the one your team fought during your initiation, but are in higher quantities." Ozpin clarifies.

"Good. Last thing we need to deal with are the larger ones." Matt says in relief. He's probably still very uneasy about what happened with him and his sister so many years ago.

"Finally from the north west, a Death Stalker is moving its way in. This would be no easy task for one team alone, which is why all three of your teams are going in together."

"Sounds like were fighting a whole army of these things." Dez points out.

"Indeed. We would not assign you this task if we did not think you capable. Of course since this is a school related issue we will be unable to pay you for your services."

"Aww, all work and no perks? That's a rip." Matt protests.

"Well while you won't be paid monetarily for your work, we will instead treat this as an extra credit assignment. Upon completion, each of your grades will be raised to an automatic A for the first semester. Sounds fair, does it not?" Goodwitch asks.

"An A… for the whole semester? That sounds reasonable." Pyrrha says in agreement to the arrangement.

"It would be beneficial. Some of us, not naming any names, could sure use the academic boost." I tease glancing at Matt.

"Are you insinuating I'm incompetent?" Matt says, aware my comment was directed at him.

"No, but now that you mention it…"

"Look I know I may not seem like the brightest student here but cut me some slack." He huffs in annoyance.

"Relax Matt. We all know how smart you can be when you actually apply yourself. You're in Beacon after all."

"And don't you forget it." He smirks.

"So, you have your orders. You will have a couple of hours to prepare. After that you will all make your way through the forest to the designated area. As soon as you take care of the Grimm you will return here. I wish you good luck on your mission. You are dismissed." Ozpin states.

"Yes Sir!" We say in unison, like a well-trained unit responding to their general.

As my team exits the elevator we discuss our plans for preparation.

"I'm going to go do some target practice in the training room." Dez says.

"I think I'll join you. I need a few targets to smash before the real deal." Matt says joining his partner.

"I'm going to do some weapon maintenance. Make sure nothing jams during the fight." Zweii says.

"Well I better head to the cliffside early and get Shadow out of the area. I don't want to risk something happening to him in the middle of the fighting." I explain.

"Alright. See you later then." Matt says before he and his partner leave for the training room.

"Guess I'll take my leave as well. See ya Ace." Zweii says leaving for the weapon shop.

"Hmm, our first mission. Never expected it to be so soon." I say to myself.

As I walk outside into the seemingly empty courtyard, I begin to feel as though I was being watched. I look around but find nothing. Still this does little to relax my nerves.

I keep walking through the courtyard until I hear footsteps behind me.

"Hiyah!" I hear as whoever's been following me attacks from behind.

I draw Lunar Fang from my left side and quickly position it between my attacker's weapon and my back. After successfully blocking the attack, I swing my sword and my body to the left, swiping at my foe.

He evades my swipe by jumping back. It's then I get to see who was attacking me.

It was a boy with short spiky blonde hair, wearing an open white jacket, showing off his muscular body, and blue cargo pants with a blonde monkey tail hanging out the back. He wields a dark red bo staff with gold detailing. He looks vaguely familiar but I can't quite remember where I've seen him before.

"So the White Fang sent one of their higher ups to come spy on Beacon huh? Too bad for you I'm going to send you packing like all the others." He boldly comments.

"White Fang? You must be mistaken kid." I say putting Lunar Fang back on my side.

"Mistaken? I don't think so. That getup of yours says otherwise. Plus I can tell you aren't human. Only Faunus hang out in the White Fang." He says rushing me.

I pull out Kokoro and Tamashii and quickly join them at the hilts forming its twin blade mode. I block his attack as we lock weapons against each other.

"Look you're making a mistake. I don't work for the White Fang. I'm a Beacon student just like everyone else here."

"Sorry if I don't believe you." He says as we trade blows, each of us blocking and countering each other's strikes.

The boy disconnects his weapon turning it into a pair of nun chucks. Now I definitely remember something like this from before.

"I know you from somewhere don't I?" I say looking him over once more. "Oh I remember now. You're that monkey Faunus that helped Blake back at the docks aren't you?"

"You leave her alone! I'm not going to let you hurt her." He shouts.

"Hurt her? What are you going on about? Blake and I are friends."

"I'm getting real sick of your lying dude." He says charging towards me.

"You're almost as stubborn as Matt." I comment.

I split my twin blade back into its separate blades and block both of them before they hit me. In a vicious fury of metal our weapons cancel out each other's strikes just as they did before.

"You're not bad." He comments as the fight continues.

"You're no push over yourself." I reply.

He swings his nun chucks again, wrapping them around my katanas. I struggle to keep him from yanking them out of my hands. When I finally get some leverage, I instead steal his weapons from his hands and throw both of our weapons to the side.

He comes in with a punch which I block with my arm easily. He sweeps low with his legs, which I jump over to avoid. He quickly kicks forward while I'm still airborne landing a blow to my chest and sending me backwards. I get up just as he follows up with a flip kick which I block with my arms. When he tries flipping off of me I grab him by his tail.

"Ugh, hey let me go. Hands off the tail." He says from his upside down position as his body goes slightly limp, as if he was suddenly drained of energy. I slam him into a nearby pillar and with my free hand give him a series of punches to the gut before finishing with an uppercut. I turn throwing him to the ground.

"You're going to pay for that!" He declares clutching his front as he attacks again. Before he gets close to me, a black figure appears between us.

"Sun, Ace, knock it off!" Blake commands.

"He started it." I huff. "Thanks for stepping in Blake."

"Well I was trying to read, but I heard you guys fighting all the way from the dorm room." She says twitching her hidden cat ears for emphasis.

"Blake, you know this guy?" The Faunus now identified as Sun asks.

"Yes. This is Ace. He leads his own team here at Beacon." She answers.

"I told you so." I call past her.

"Then what's with the Grimm armor? He looks like he belongs in the White Fang."

"Ace has the ability to preserve Grimm bodies. He uses them to make his armor." Blake explains. "Was that why you assumed he was in league with the White Fang?" She asks.

"That and the fact I could tell he wasn't human."

"How in the world do you know that?" I ask. He looks around before whispering to us.

"It's like an instinct Faunus have that lets us sense other Faunus. Its how I knew Blake was one even though I never met her before and how I figured out you were as well." He whispers.

"You can do that?" I ask. "Does that mean you knew about me all this time Blake?" I ask.

"I had my suspicions. You never taking off your helmet also reinforced my suspicions." She answers.

"I don't never take it off." I argue.

"Ace, you wear it to sleep and you wore it Christmas morning. Aside from that old family photo you showed Weiss and I, we have no idea what you even look like under there." She points out.

"In any case your instinct was only half right." I state.

"You mean…" Sun starts. I nod in response.

"I'm not a full blood Faunus. I'm a Half Breed." I clarify.

"Dude, total respect for you and your family." He says extending his hand.

"Thank you. Just don't mention it to anyone alright? It's fine between my friends but I don't want anyone else knowing right now." I say shaking his hand.

"No problem, uh, Ace was it?"

"Yes. Ace Wolfblade."

"Well Ace, I'm Sun Wukong. Any friend of Blake is a friend to me."

Just after our introductions, Zweii and all of the others walk up.

"Hey Ace." Zweii greets. "Blake said she heard fighting out here so we all came out to see what was going on. What happened? Who's this guy?" He asks motioning to Sun.

"I sort of jumped the gun and attacked Ace here. I thought he was a spy for the White Fang. Name's Sun by the way." Sun explains.

"Ha! You should have been there during our initiation. When I first met him I thought he was some sort of Grimm. Tried to cut him down. I'm Ace's partner Zweii." Zweii laughs.

"Looks like we have some common ground then." Sun says returning the laugh.

"Well I'm glad you two are hitting it off so nice." I mumble.

"Aww cheer up Ace. It's not like all the people you meet attack you because of the armor." Matt says.

"Whatever. Are we all set for the mission?" I ask.

"Yep. We're all ready to head out." Ruby answers.

"Mission?" Sun asks in confusion.

"Right, I was heading off to the cliffside to do something when you jumped me." I state. "We're about to go on an extermination mission."

"Oh, oh, you were getting Shadow weren't you?" Nora asks excitedly.

"Yes I was."

"Shadow? That sounds like the name of a pet. Your dog?" Sun asks.

"More or less. Shadow is Ace's domesticated Beowolf." Blake explains.

"You wear them as armor and keep them as pets? Now that's pretty cool." Sun says.

"Not the reaction I usually get but yeah. Anyway I guess we'll see you around Sun."

"Not if I tag along with you guys." Sun replies.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." Blake says.

"Why not? I can fight too you know."

"We should at least ask Ozpin about it." Matt suggests.

"I'll do it." I state pulling out my scroll. I dial Ozpin's office and in a couple of rings, I get connected with the Headmaster.

"Yes? Is there something you need?" Ozpin asks.

"We have a friend who wants to assist us in our mission. His name is Sun Wukong. We were all wondering if he would be allowed to join us."

"Hmm, sending one student without their team is highly irregular as normal procedure stands."

"We realize this but I can assure you he's more than qualified to fight. If anything he will make this mission that much easier on us and he's willing to help."

"Very well then. I trust your judgment. Thank you for notifying me first. I'll see you all when you get back."

"Thank you sir." I say before hanging up. "Alright Ozpin gave the all clear. You're officially apart of the hunt Sun." I inform.

"Nice." He replies giving two thumbs up.

"Guess that means we can finally head out." Zweii says. "The sooner we get there the sooner we can get back and relax."

"Right. Just as soon as I finish up my interrupted business." I state.

We walk to base of the cliffside, filling Sun in on the mission details we had been given by Ozpin. Better him to know exactly what he had volunteered for before we got going.

With that out of the way I call for Shadow. In a mere minute after howling back, he was within view.

"Shadow!" Ruby cheers, sprinting over and petting him on the head. He wags his tail in response.

"That has to be the sickest pet ever man." Sun comments as he casually moves toward Shadow for a better look.

"He's not only that, but one of my most loyal companions as well." I reply kneeling down to scratch the back of Shadow's ears.

"Man I bet you could get into a lot of trouble if the school found out you had this." Sun says holding out his hand in front of Shadow. Shadow responds by placing his paw on Sun's outstretched hand.

"I did." I chuckle lightly.

"Wait so the professors here already know?" Sun asks in surprise.

"Yeah. They've known for months now. Gave me a research paper as punishment."

"That's Wolfie alright!" Yang chirps. "Always breaking the rules and following his own."

"Wolfie? If I didn't know her, I'd say that was offensive." Sun says.

"That's exactly what I told her." I sigh. "And I don't break the rules all the time."

"Well maybe not all the time, but you do. You even defy the rules of nature." Dez says pointing at Shadow.

"Well some rules are worth breaking then." I smile. "Alright Shadow, we need to go hunting now and I want you to stay right here okay?" I ask my pet. He sits down and barks for his reply. "Good. We'll be back soon, and then tomorrow we can play together. Behave."

After giving Shadow his instructions we begin making our way into the forest towards our objective.

"So he really understood all of that?" Sun asks me.

"He understands a lot of things actually. He's hyper intelligent for a Grimm, which is why the professors want me to study him more closely."

"Who knows? Ace might become the leading expert on Grimm one day." Matt states proudly.

"Maybe." I say in agreement.

It would be an interesting field to study after all, and I've already got the best head start imaginable. But today was not the day for research. Today was a day for hunting.

* * *

After almost an hour of walking through the ever lush Emerald Forest, the group had made it to their destination. All was quiet, as their targets had not yet reached this far into the territory. But they would soon, and the peace of the forest would break into the sounds of combat.

Dezaryl took up a spot in the branches of one of the trees. He would provide cover fire from this elevated position. He was a bit excited. He had been itching to give the new ammo his leader had gifted him a real test.

Pyrrha took a position next to Jaune. While her private lessons with him were improving his battle prowess, they were both aware that he still had a lot to work on and decided to stick close to give each other support.

Everyone else was spread out, accompanied by their respective partners, with Sun filling in for Dezaryl as Matthew's partner. The pairs were not so far from each other that they would be unable to assist the rest of their team, or if need be the group as a whole, but far enough so they weren't bunched into one spot.

After waiting for a few quiet minutes, Dezaryl spots the first group of Grimm to arrive. Beowolves, and lots of them. Ozpin wasn't lying when he said the packs were sizable. This pack was at least forty members strong. A pack this size couldn't just be led by one Alpha. In the front, stood two Alphas who shared leadership over the combined minors. It was as if two groups became one.

"We have Beowolves incoming from the right side." Dezaryl announces quietly to the rest of the group.

"Do you have a shot?" Ace asks the archer.

"I have one of the big ones in my sights." He replies, staring down the arrows flight.

"Alright then. Give them hell." Ace orders.

With a swift release of the arrows plume, the metallic arrow screamed through the air towards one of the Alphas. Dezaryl watched the arrow enter the Beowolf's chest and exit its backside killing it before it even knew what was going on, earning Dezaryl the first blood of the hunt. The arrows power was impressive as it punctured another, lesser Beowolf behind the first and finally embedded itself into a tree.

"That was awesome!" Dez cheers, feeling quite good about his double take down. "Ace these arrows are great."

The second Alpha howls angrily at the loss of two pack mates. The rest of the minors charge forward, seeking revenge. They spread out into groups of their own, forming a black and white wave of teeth and claws.

"Here they come. Get ready!" Ruby commands, as her team prepares for combat.

"Stick together!" Jaune orders his own team as they too get ready for the fight.

As the pack closes in on the group, Ace grips his claymore tightly, holding out on his right side.

"Attack!" He shouts, rushing forward with Zweii to the closest group of Grimm. The rest of the group follows suit, and join the battle.

Ruby sprinted effortlessly through a small group of the monsters, cleaving them into pieces with Crescent Rose. The beasts were no match for the reaper and her instrument of death as they soon lay in scattered piles of limbs and blood.

Not to be bested by her partner, Weiss slid back and forth between the rest of the group, swinging and thrusting he rapier into the Grimm. When the rest lay dead around her she locks eyes with Ruby. The pair gives each other a smile of satisfaction and a look of determination that made their eyes burn with a sense of rivalry.

The next group surrounded Jaune and Pyrrha, trying to cut them off from the rest of their team.

"You can do this Jaune. Remember what we practiced." Pyrrha smiles giving her friend some last minute encouragement. He nods looking around and lowering his stance, waiting for the Grimm to make the first move.

The first lunged towards Jaune. Instinctively he blocked with his shield, pushing it backwards and slashing at its chest. Crocea Mors cut deep into the beast, making short work of the Beowolf.

The rest of the sub pack began attacking from all directions. Pyrrha swings Miló in its xiphos form, cutting through the front of her first target. Spinning to the side to avoid a second Beowolf, she slices it in its side sending to the ground. Both Jaune and Pyrrha moved back to back, attacking in perfect synch.

At the same time, Ace and Zweii were really taking the fight to the last set of Beowolves, swinging their heavy blades through the offending creatures.

"Ah, just like initiation all over again isn't it?" Zweii says in nostalgia as his zweihander splits a Beowolf down the center.

"Yeah, except this time, I don't have you trying to fry me to a crisp." Ace replies, beheading a Beowolf of his own.

"True but hey, we had a good laugh after didn't we?" Zweii asks taking one hand off of this sword's hilt, creating an orb of fire to blast another beast into oblivion.

"Looking back on it now, it does seem funny. But if you hadn't hunted me down, I probably wouldn't have had the chance to make such a great friend." Ace replies. "Guess my armor actually did something good for me. It helped me meet you."

"And I the chance to meet a very unique individual such as you." He replies.

The last Alpha, taking the duo by surprise, leaps into the air trying to attack from above. Both Zweii and Ace looked upwards as it became even closer, but before it could land on either of them, Vulcan's massive head could be heard firing from its handle. As the head passes the Alpha, Matthew expertly swings the chain in a spiral motion, wrapping it around the Alpha's torso.

With the Alpha trapped in the chain, Matthew pulls back, slamming the beast into the ground with all his might. The Beowolf dies on impact and Matthew throws the corpse out of the way.

"Thanks for the assist Matt." Ace says gratefully.

"Don't mention it. We have bigger things to deal with anyway." Matthew says point to the brush behind his two friends.

The group of Ursi had arrived on the scene. There were eight total, led by a Major. The Ursi growl making their presence known to all around them.

"They couldn't have waited a little longer? We still have to deal with the remaining Beowolves." Dezaryl says firing an arrow into one of the numerous creatures.

"Everybody move up! We need to take these things out fast before we're over run!" Ren says.

A chorus of howls alert everyone to another danger. Another set of Beowolves had moved into the battle ground.

"Dang. I thought we had got rid of all of them already." Jaune says turning to face the new pack

"I got it!" Sun yells jumping onto one of the Beowolves head and landing in the middle. The pack was smaller than last but still reasonably big. If Sun had any concern of facing them alone, he didn't show it.

The Beowolves begin to attack as the monkey Faunus spins his Bo staff around. Swinging left and right, Sun skillfully bashes the oncoming beasts with his staff. The Beowolves just weren't agile enough to land a blow and their numbers quickly diminished.

And then things started to go wrong. While sun was taking down the Beowolves, a King Taijitu slithered forth from the depths of the forest.

"Sun, look out!" Matthew yells as the giant serpent lunged forward, mouth open wide.

Sun turns his attention to the snake, but doesn't react quickly enough to dodge. The snake grabs Sun in its mouth trying to consume him, but finds its prey won't go down easy. Sun had lodged his staff between the base and the roof of the snake's maw, holding on to it while the snake desperately tried to either devour him or shake him out.

"Ugh, this things breath is disgusting!" Sun says trying not to wretch from the putrid smell emanating from the Taijitu's insides.

"What the heck is that thing doing here? Ozpin never mentioned a Taijtu." Yang points out firing rounds at its scale sides in an attempt to get Sun out of its mouth.

"Maybe he missed it." Blake says slicing an Ursa open with Gambol Shroud.

"How do you miss something this big?" Sun argues before finally slipping out of the snake's mouth intact.

"We'll bring it up in our report. Just kill it already." Weiss says piercing an Ursa's chest with her Myrtenaster.

"On it!" Zweii yells switching his sword into a chain gun firing into the white side of the twin headed snake.

The Taijitu hisses in pain as it strikes at the paladin with its other head. Zweii dodges causing the head to bite into the earth. Dezaryl saw this as a window and turning his bow into a longsword, leapt from the tree and drove the sword into the top of the snake's head.

The Taijitu reels in pain throwing Dezaryl backwards without his weapon. The white head crashes into a tree knocking it over, causing to fall directly over Dezaryl. The archer closes his eyes, fearing the impact. Even with aura it was sure to crush him.

A couple seconds later he opens his eyes to see the tree hovering in midair above him. It was surrounded by a teal aura. His aura. Ever curious as to what was going on he concentrated on the tree causing it to slowly hover over the Taijitu. When the Black head tried to strike him, he released whatever hold he had on the tree, causing to start falling again. It lands on the snake's neck breaking it and killing that half.

The Taijitu thrashes wildly, mouth gaping in pain from the loss of its other half. Zweii conjures a fireball, throwing it into the snakes open mouth. It quickly catches fire engulfing the inside of the head in searing flames. The snake writhes in agony before the flames go out and the smoking head ceases all movement, collapsing.

"Dez! Are you alright? What just happened?" Ace questions, quickly picking his friend off the ground.

"I'm not sure. My aura acted as if it was holding the tree, moving it to my will." Dezaryl says retrieving his weapon.

"Like telekinesis?" Zweii asks.

"Makes sense. My semblance does deal with the mind. Maybe it just finally unlocked that specific ability due to me being in trouble." Dezaryl reasons.

"Can you do it again, like on some rocks or something?" Ace asks curiously.

Dezaryl looks at a few small rocks before closing his eyes and concentrating. He moves in a manner similar to Pyrrha when she uses her polarity, raising his hand toward them. A faint glow like early could be seen around the rocks as they began to vibrate, before going out.

"Doesn't seem like I can fully utilize this skill yet." Dezaryl says in disappointment.

"Hey you just figured out you could do it. I'm sure you just need to practice with it a little." Ace states assuring the archer.

"For now let's just focus on the mission. Right Matt?" Zweii says waiting for a reply. When one doesn't come he tries again. "Matt? Hey where is Matt?" He asks looking around.

The group finds Matthew smashing his way through the remaining Ursi along with Nora. The two hammer wielders violently clear out the minors before simultaneously spinning, swinging Vulcan and Magnhild into both sides of the Major, crushing it in between.

"Ah there ain't no kill quite like overkill." Matthew says, watching the Major's body begin to smoke and disintegrate. "Nice job Nora." He says giving her a high five.

Suddenly a Death Stalker makes its way into the fight snapping its pincers menacingly.

"Now that, that's gonna take a bit more to take out." Nora says sheepishly.

The Death Stalker did not come alone. As soon as it had arrived Blake spotted something flying towards them.

"Nevermores! The flock is here as well!" She calls out, turning her katana into a pistol, firing into the sky.

"Ren, give Blake some support." Jaune orders, slashing another Beowolf.

Ren points StormFlower into the air firing both sub machine guns into the flock. While they were not as large as the one RWBY had fought, they were still strong for their moderate size, taking full clips before going down.

The birds fired back, launching their feathers in a fierce rain towards Blake and Ren, who roll out of the way narrowly dodging the sharp projectiles.

By now, the students were becoming exhausted form the never ending waves of enemies. Despite this they pressed on, as their mission would soon be over. Or so they thought.

More Ursai lumbered in as AZRE and RWY prepared to attack the Death Stalker.

"Nora!" Jaune yelled as the Ursi got closer to his and Pyrrha's location.

The young Valkyrie transforms her hammer into its grenade launcher form and fires a series of three bombs at the creatures, blowing one up and stunning the rest. She runs over to aid her friends.

"Matt, give them some support! We can handle this thing." Ace orders.

"You too Yang." Ruby adds quickly.

"Be careful." Yang says before she and Matthew take off to help JNP. She still remembered how well Ruby had faired against the last Death Stalker they had encountered.

They arrive as Nora sends one of the beasts into the ground with a powerful downward smash. Yang fires her shotgun gauntlets, blasting an Ursa in the chest before running forward and delivering an uppercut to its jaw. Pyrrha transforms her xiphos into javelin form, throwing it into an oncoming Ursa, piercing it through the center of its head, before reclaiming her weapon with her semblance. To finish the remaining Ursa, Jaune blocks an attack with his shield while Matthew slams his hammer into its back killing it.

At the same time they had finished off the Ursi, Ren and Blake had finished clearing out the Nevermores, their ammo and stamina nearly depleted. All that was left now was the Death Stalker.

* * *

_Ace…_

* * *

The Death Stalker strikes first, attacking with its pinchers. As it attempts to sweep with its right claw we evade, dodging backwards and out of its range. When it strikes with its stinger, Weiss very cleverly freezes its tail to the ground immobilizing the appendage.

Zweii attempts to burn the creature with his semblance using a powerful surge of fire. Unlike the Taijitu, The Death Stalker proved to be quite resistant, shielding its sensitive areas with its bony claws. The fire only served to thaw out the stinger that was previously trapped.

"This things tough. It shook off my fire like it was nothing." Zweii states.

"Let's see how it likes this then." Dez says drawing an arrow.

He fires it into the Death Stalker's front, embedding an arrow into one of its eyes. It shrieks, attacking with its pincer. Dez dodges, while I get in close to the pincer.

"Mind if I cut in?" I taunt as I swing Lunar Fang downwards cutting through the leg segments connected to the claw.

"My turn!" Ruby says confidently dashing to the remaining claw. Before she can take off the other limb, the Death Stalker swipes at her. Weiss forms a glyph in front of Ruby which the young Huntress uses to bounce off of, choosing to safely retreat farther back. She begins firing her sniper rifle at the death Stalkers side, wounding it slightly.

Then we are all surprised yet again. A second Death Stalker appears just behind Ruby's position. This isn't good.

"What? Another one? Don't tell me Ozpin missed this one too." Weiss huffs in annoyance.

"I got to go help Ruby fight that thing." I tell the others. Ruby can't fight it alone.

"Go on. We can handle this one." Zweii says with a grin. I nod and move to help Ruby.

"So, guess this one's ours huh?" Ruby asks me as we stare down the Grimm scorpion.

"Looks like it." I answer. "Got any ideas?"

"Shooting it isn't going to work. Not even my ammo can hurt it."

"What about those rounds with the black Dust Weiss gave you." I suggest.

She grabs a specially marked clip from her belt with realization. Quickly she ejects her normal ammo and puts in the special rounds. She stabs the blade of Crescent Rose into the ground, using it as a balancer. When she lines up the shot, she pulls the trigger, releasing a black wave from the barrel.

The Death Stalker blocks with its claws, deflecting most if not all of the damage.

"I can't get a clean shot on it." Ruby says.

"Stay here. I have an idea. When I tell you, fire another round."

I rush forward transforming Lunar Fang into shotgun mode, firing at the still guarding Death Stalker. As I get close I jump over its claws, firing rounds into its face. The rounds damage its eyes partially blinding it as I get onto its back, just behind its head. With a few more shots into the slightly unarmored gap between its head and its first back plate, the Death Stalker flails its claws upward removing the barrier between Ruby and its face.

"Now!" I yell as I jump off the Death Stalkers back.

Ruby squeezes the trigger, firing another wave of energy from her weapons barrel. The shot lands a direct hit, making the Death Stalker shriek in pain before collapsing.

"Nice shot." I commend Ruby after the successful take down of the creature.

"Nice thinking. That Dust sure did the trick." She replies happily. "I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, me too. Stay here and rest a little. I'm going to see if the others need help."

With that I dash a short distance over just in time to see Zweii cleaving off the already injured Death Stalker's tail. Dez fired three arrows at once into its front, causing even more damage. Weiss then primed Myrtenaster, making the sword glow that brilliant white. Launching herself with a glyph, she cuts all the way down its side. The Death Stalker dies, disintegrating into a flurry of snowflakes.

Then the battle ground grew quiet once more. The fight was over. We were victorious.

After a moment of silence we all burst into celebration.

"We did it! We killed them all!" Matt yells excitedly.

"Nicely done everybody. Things started to look a little dicey there for a moment, but we did it. Let's head back and report to Ozpin the good news." Zweii says.

I hang back, watching as everyone regroups, congratulating each other and making their way towards Beacon. After all of this, I think we could all do with some rest. I look back to Ruby who is also watching the others with her ever present smile.

And then it happened. Something that none of us could have expected.

Without warning, and much to my shock, the fallen Death Stalker rises from the carnage. With all of its remaining strength, it raises its tail, taking aim with its stinger for one final strike. It's target… Ruby. She, as well as the others, remain unaware of this threat, too caught up in the false completion of the mission.

"Ruby!" I shout trying to get her attention, but she doesn't seem to hear me.

It was all happening to fast to even think. If I didn't do something quick Ruby was going to be severely hurt, or worse. I run as fast as I can towards her, as the Death Stalker silently inches closer to her from behind.

Within range of its target the Death Stalker launches its attack as its stinger comes down at its mark. Time seemed to slow around me as I remember the warning from sometime back. The warning from my dream.

"RUBY!"

She finally turns to see the stinger already hurtling towards her. Her eyes widen with fear and her body locks up. She's too worn out to get away. She cringes, waiting for the strike. A strike I would never allow to fall upon her.

I swiftly push her out of harm's way, shielding her from the attack. But for her safety I pay a heavy price.

I feel the stinger lodge itself into my back, instantly filling my body with such pain I could not help but scream as blood erupted from my back.

And what hurt even more, was the look on Ruby's face when she realized what I had done when she opened her eyes, and the sound of her fearful screaming.

The creature of Grimm wasn't done and in a swift motion, threw me off its stinger and into the air.

My back smashes into a tree, breaking the spikes in my armor and causing even more pain. I land on the ground, greatly injured and bleeding out. I'm sure some bones are broken as well.

My vision is blurred and I can barely hear as I fade in and out of consciousness due to blood loss. I briefly see the others attacking the Death Stalker in an all-out assault. The last thing I see is Ruby, standing in front of me, tears streaming down her face.

"Ace? Ace…"

_'__Dust… Is this really how it all ends?' _I wonder._ 'Ruby…I'm sorry…'_

My eyes close as everything goes silent and my whole world fades to black.

* * *

**A/N: ...**

**Yeah so that happened. For all of you out there wondering, yes the chapter got pushed back a week. I was at a friend's house most of last week and basically nothing to get this story on a word document, then I come to realize I only had a small percentage of it done, i.e. the ending cause I'm a genius and can see the future. But hey it's not months late am I right? It could have taken longer. My computer crashed last night just as I was putting the finishing touches on this chapter and I nearly had a heart attack because I hadn't saved for a while and I thought I lost all my progress. Luckily auto save kicked in before it crashed or I would have lost it.**

**Anyway enough of me wasting you people's time. See you next week for sure. After all, this is only the beginning of the end... Of the season.**


	23. Chapter 21

**Aftermath: The Pain of Loss**

* * *

Time stood still for everyone. It had happened all too fast. This couldn't be real. It was just some horrible joke, or a nightmare.

One minute everyone was celebrating a successful extermination of Grimm. The next, the smiles turned to expressions of fear as everyone could only look on in horror as Ace was being impaled by a surviving Death Stalker. To listen as Ruby's screams became deafening, echoing through the forest.

"ACE! NO!" Zweii cries in disbelief as his leader was flung into a tree, crumpling onto the forest floor.

Matthew was the next to react, roaring in anger.

"YOU MONSTER!"

He charges at the vile creature that dared wound his best friend, while everyone who was able unloaded round after round at the Grimm in near equal rage.

Matthew smashes Vulcan into its face, breaking the exoskeleton and piercing through with the hammers sharp spike. The beast fell once more, but Matthew was far from finished and continued his attack, fueled by his rage, unwilling to cease his assault on the creature's corpse until there was nothing left but dust.

Jaune, Yang, and Weiss were at the injured leader's side in a heartbeat. Carefully, Yang sit's Ace upright. She looks down at her hands to find them stained in his blood.

Meanwhile, Dezaryl was on his scroll contacting help.

"This is Dezaryl Ravenhawk of Team AZRE! We have wounded and need immediate medical extraction!"

"He's fading!" Yang informs the teams. "Come on Wolfie, hang in there."

Nora buried her face into Ren's shoulder while he comforted her, the normally bubbly girl unable to look anymore.

Blake and Sun were desperately trying to calm Matthew down and pull him away as he continued pulverizing the long dead Death Stalker into the earth. When they finally did, they could see the hurt in his eyes as he looked on at his friend. He didn't deserve this. It wasn't fair.

Ruby rushes over to Ace after recovering from her initial shock finally wore off. Her eyes filled with tears as she stopped in front of the boy.

"Ace?" She calls. No response. "Ace?" Nothing. She begins sobbing into her sister's chest as the sounds of medical transport was heard overhead.

The airship landed in the closest available area. Professor Goodwitch, joined by a medical crew stepped off the airship and towards the students. She notes the large amounts of disintegrating Grimm corpses.

"What happened here?" she asks sternly, before laying eyes on their fallen comrade. "Oh my God…" She quietly gasps at the sight of one of her students sitting in a small pool of his own blood. She turns to the still sobbing Ruby. "What happened?" Glynda asks, this time in a gentle, concerned tone.

Ruby could hardly look her in the eyes, barely form words to answer as they became lost in her throat.

"He saved me. He saved my life." She manages to get out between sobs.

Glynda approaches Ace to see the extent of the damage herself. His armor was broken in the backside. A large hole was punched through revealing the bleeding wound.

_'__Death Stalker.'_ Glynda mentally concluded. She notes the labored breathing still coming from the fallen warrior. He was still barely alive. The armor could be fixed, quite easily with her abilities, but these wounds needed extensive and immediate medical attention if that were to have any hope of saving his life. With a flick of her crop, the scattered shards of the armor returned to their rightful place, fully restoring the armor.

"We need to get him out of here immediately. There's still time." She says turning to the medical staff. "We need to stop the bleeding. Do what you can to seal the wound. Get him on life support stat. You, set up an I.V. of Death Stalker antitoxin. We leave for Beacon as soon as possible." She orders to the medical crew.

"Yes ma'am." They reply reading a stretcher. Once they had the patient on board they begin stripping off the upper armor to reach the puncture wound. The rest of the teams could only watch as the Bullhead took off with their friend.

"We should get back to Beacon as well. We've completed the mission. We're of no more use out here." Zweii states glumly, breaking the silence. The others nod and make their way back to Beacon.

* * *

There was nothing but silence within the waiting room as the three teams plus Sun awaited news of their friend's condition. Matthew just stared intently at the door leading to the emergency room.

"Hang in there buddy." He whispered to himself, almost as if he was right there beside his friend. Dezaryl stood up and walked over to Matthew, placing his hand on his shoulder, as if to tell him it would be alright. But both of them knew that there was no guarantee of that.

Ruby's usual carefree attitude was absent as she sat in her chair, aimlessly starring at the floor. Her silver eyes, usually filled with luster and energy, were dull and lifeless. One of her close friends was hurt and she couldn't help but feel like she was to blame. A few tears rolled down her already tear stained cheeks.

Without warning. One of the medical staff emerged from the door that Matthew's eyes were laid upon.

"Are you all here about Ace Wolfblade?" She asks, eyeing the large group of people in the waiting room. Matthew nods in response.

"How is he doc?" The hammer wielder asks.

"Not good." She sighs. "The battle left him with multiple fractured ribs, some damage to his back, and a good amount of torn muscle. He also lost a lot of blood from his wounds. We were able to stop the bleeding but it will take a while for his system to return to normal." She details. "Your friend is very lucky the stinger did so little damage to his vitals. Just a couple of inches higher and it would have proven fatal."

Matthew cringes when he heard how close Ace had come to losing his life in the forest.

"So he's going to be okay, right?" Matthew asks hopefully. The nurse is silent for a brief moment.

"We… We don't know." She replies hesitantly.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Matthew asks through grit teeth, staring angrily at the poor nurse.

"Matt…" Dezaryl says simply, noticing the intimidated expression on the nurse's face. Matthew continues to stare for a few seconds before sighing and backing down.

"Yes, well, unfortunately that was the only good news we could provide. The bad news is he's still not out of the woods just yet. His breathing is still labored and very faint. We had to put him on life support to keep him breathing. His heart rate is also exceedingly slow and his Aura has yet to replenish itself. I'm afraid your friend has gone into Aura Lockdown" She finishes.

"Aura Lockdown? What is that?" Dezaryl asks.

"It's a pretty rare condition that has only been reported in a few dozen medical cases. Essentially while the body is deemed okay, the patient's Aura fails to regenerate after rest. It's as if a part of their soul is no longer with them preventing them from gaining there Aura back. As a result the mind puts the body into a state of lockdown until their Aura fixes itself. Simply put, it's like a coma but far more dangerous."

"What are his chances of recovering?" Zweii asks nervously.

"I'm not going to lie. His chances are very slim. Only five percent of the victims in these cases ever made it. Those who didn't were dead in a couple of days."

"So what you're saying is… Ace may never wake up?" Matthew asks shaking.

"I'm sorry." Is all the nurse could answer with. "You can see him if you would like. It may be the last time you get the chance." She offers. Matthew nods his head solemnly.

"Matthew?" Came Ruby's voice. "Can… Can I see him as well?" She asks.

"Y-Yeah… Sure." He replies, too stunned to answer her with his full attention.

JNPR got up and moved to the door exiting the waiting room.

"We'll come by and visit later." Jaune says sadly.

"Alright. Ozpin has decided to give all of you an extended few days off from classes to... Cope." The nurse informs struggling to find the last word.

"Thank you for telling us." Ren says politely. As he leaves, Zweii also gets up to remove himself from the room.

"Where are you going? Don't you want to see your friend?" The nurse asks.

"I… I need to go make a phone call. I'll be back later." Zweii says before leaving as well.

Matthew just watches as his friends begin to leave.

"Don't worry man." Sun says putting his hand on Matthew's back. "They just want to give two some time alone." The monkey Faunus assures him. Matthew nods in acknowledgment. "I'm going to split too. Wanna go check on Blake." He grins.

"Hey I get it. Go get her." Matthew says, forcing a small, friendly smile.

As Sun gets halfway out the door he stops.

"And Matt, Ruby. Try not to worry so much. I have a feeling everything will turn out okay." He says before leaving the room completely.

"And what about you?" Matthew asks his partner.

"I'll be right here, just in case my partner needs me. Now go see Ace." He replies with a small smile.

"Thank you." Matthew says in appreciation.

He leaves with Ruby as they make their way to Ace's room. As Matthew stood in front of the door he stopped. He didn't know what seeing his friend's condition would do to him once he stepped through that door. But Ace was his friend and in his heart, Matthew knew that Ace needed him to be there for him. To be strong for him. For both of them.

So he braced himself and turned the handle, gaining entrance to the room. The duo walks in and stops at the side of the bed where Ace rested.

"Oh Ace…" Matthew whispers as his gaze met his fallen friends form.

He was indeed alive, apparent by his weak respiration, his chest rising and falling weakly. The sight of the life support attached to him was almost too much for Matthew and Ruby. The machines beeped and clicked every so often to indicate his slowed heart rhythm.

What surprised Matthew was that Ace was still wearing his helmet, which made him smile slightly. Barely visible through the oxygen mask was Ace's pained expression. To think even in his state he could display such pain.

Ruby simply stared at the boy that just traded his life for her own. Matthew sat down in a nearby chair, watching the young girl continue to stare blankly. Excluding the noise from the machines, the room was silent. After what seemed like an eternity the silence was broken.

"It's not your fault you know." Matthew tells the young reaper.

"How can you say that?" She asks without moving an inch. How could it not be her fault? If Ace hadn't had to save her, he wouldn't be here. "Of course it's my fault." She says sadly.

"Ruby, don't say that, don't even think that." Matthew orders.

"How can you be so calm? Your best friend is possibly dying because I let my guard down. Aren't you mad!?" she cries.

Matthew just looks at her with a puzzled look.

"Do you want me to be angry at you?" He asks.

"Yes! I mean no… I … I don't know." She says indecisively.

"Ruby, I'm not mad at you. No one knew that this was going to happen. We all let our guard down. Ace just reacted quicker than us." Matthew says sincerely. "You know, it's sad. I always thought it would be me in this kind of situation. But never Ace." He admits.

Ruby turns and looks at him questioningly.

"Why?" She asks simply.

"Because I'm not Ace. He's smart and always goes into battle with a plan to avoid injury. I just rush head on recklessly, throwing caution to the wind." He stops and smiles slightly. "He always tried his best to look out for me. All of us really. Guess he just couldn't stand to see any of us get hurt. It's his way of showing how much he cares for us. Considering he was willing to give his life to protect yours says a lot about how much he cares about you."

"You really think he cares about me that much?" Ruby asks.

"Well why wouldn't he?

"We're just friends. I've only know him for less than a year."

"Then you are a very valuable friend to him. He said so himself when he gave you that gift."

Ruby returns to her vigil over Ace. Matthew gets up and starts walking to the door.

"I'm going to get something to eat. You wanna come?" Matthew asks.

"No. I'm going stay here." She answers bluntly.

"Alright." Matt replies, his smile vanishing at the crimsonette's troubled answer. "Ruby. Don't blame yourself for this. He wouldn't want you to beat yourself up." He says earning a nod from Ruby. He exits the room, leaving the young leader to herself.

* * *

Zweii sat on his bed looking towards the window. He held his scroll in his hands, the device awaiting his input.

He was deeply troubled. He was supposed to have his partners back. But he failed. He failed his duty as Ace's partner. He needed advice, and there was one person he could always turn to. Someone who was beyond their years and always had a solution. His father.

With a heavy sigh he turns to his scroll and dials the numbers. In a couple of rings, his call was answered.

"Hello?"Came the voice of his father. It was strong and proud, much like the heritage he hailed from.

"Hello father." The young knight greeted politely.

"Zweii! It's good to hear from you son. How are you doing? How's Beacon treating you lately?" He asks enthusiastically.

"Beacon is fine, but things… things aren't well right at the moment." Zweii replies.

"Oh? Are the classes giving you problems?" His father asks.

"No, classes are fine." Zweii answers.

"Then what seems to be troubling you?" His father asks curiously.

"It's my leader. You remember Ace don't you?"

"Of course. You told me about him after your teams were formed and more when he told you he was a Half Breed. I must say I'm very proud of you for how you handled that. You're a good friend." His father recalls praising his son.

"I'm not so sure about that anymore." Zweii sighs.

"Did something happen between you two perchance?" His father asks.

"I… We had a mission today to clean out an abnormally large group of Grimm in the forest. We fought alongside Teams RWBY and JNPR, as well as one of our new friends, Sun. He's a monkey Faunus visiting for the upcoming tournament. It was supposed to be so simple, but they just kept coming and wore us down. There were creatures Ozpin either failed to record or forgot to mention that made it even worse. Eventually we thought we had killed them all, but a Death Stalker survived the attack and it… It impaled Ace." Zweii concludes, finishing his report and explanation.

"That's terrible news indeed. Poor boy." His father says in sympathy. "What of his condition?"

"The nurse says he's in Aura Lockdown." Zweii answers.

"I see." His father says. He was in fact aware of Aura Lockdown as he was most knowledgeable in most fields. He had heard stories, none of which were very promising for the situation. "I take it you know his chances aren't very high at all."

"Father I need your guidance. My friend is dying and I don't know how to help him. I feel so helpless!" He shouts punching the wall. "Please… What can I do?" He asks frantically.

But for once, his father didn't have the answer his son was looking for.

"I'm sorry Zweii. I truly am. But there is nothing either of us can do, but pray that Ace pulls through." His father answers.

"That can't be. There has to be something I can do!" Zweii yells. How could his father, Lance of the Dragos family line, not know how to help him? To Zweii it was unthinkable.

His father was silent once more. Then he spoke again, pain in his voice.

"You sound just as I did before your uncle died." He says sadly.

Zweii's eyes grow wide at the mention of his deceased relative.

"Uncle Clay…" Zweii whispers sadly, his thoughts falling to the memory of his passing.

His uncle was a witty man, using his skills to seize victory in the tightest of predicaments. He was also a very compassionate man, even showing mercy to his enemies. In a lot of regards he was like Ace. He even wielded a claymore of his own. It was almost like they were one in the same. And that's probably what hurt Zweii the most.

"My brother was a strong warrior. We always fought side by side, keeping each other safe, pushing towards victory. But the one time I couldn't be there to help him, he was injured. I wanted to help him. If there was anything I could have done, no matter how little it would have helped, I would have done it. But there was nothing. I was furious. How could I watch as my own blood died knowing there was no hope?" He says pausing briefly. "Our family has had many a moment where the ones we cared about have been ripped away from us. We blame the curse that was placed upon us long ago. Even now that cursed beast haunts this family."

Zweii knew the curse of which his father spoke of. It was a story his father would tell to him before bed when he was young.

Long ago, in a distant time, when mankind began its fight to reclaim their world from the Grimm, his great ancestor did battle with an Ancient Evil, long forgotten to all but his family. To most it was little more than a myth, a legend, a fairy tale passed down through the ages, but this was no legend. His family knew it to be true.

When their ancestor did battle with the creature, many were lost that day. His ancestor lost his entire squad, people he cared about. He alone was left to wage war with the beast. When things looked their worst, his ancestor found the power to finally defeat that black demon. The power that has been passed down through his family for generations. But even with this power, he was unable to cleanse the world of this evil, but rather subdue it and seal it away. It was that day so many, many eons ago that the Dragos name was both praised and cursed.

"Zweii… These feelings of sorrow, anger, despair; they are the feelings of great loss. I told you there were lessons that you would have to learn for yourself. This is one of those lessons. To learn how it feels to lose someone close to you."

"That's why you said I couldn't learn them by myself?" Zweii asks.

"Indeed. Going to Beacon gave you new allies and friends. People you care about and wish to protect. But when you find yourself unable to help them, that is when you will be tested." His father replies. "You're growing up so fast my son. I never expected for you to learn this particular lesson so early. It's not an easy one to deal with."

"So what do I do now?" Zweii asks.

"That is for you to decide." His father answers sagely.

"I guess I need to be strong for my friends and have faith that Ace will pull through." Zweii says, following his father's wisdom.

"And are you content with this answer?" Lance asks.

"I still wish I could do something, but this is the best I can do for now." Zweii answers.

"Then you have made the right decision. If you truly feel that you have failed then you must learn from your mistakes. Train both your body and your mind, and in doing so, make sure that you may prevent future tragedy. I have faith in you and your friends."

"Thank you father. Say hi to mother for me."

"I will. She will be happy to know you are doing well. Good luck my son."

"Goodbye." Zweii says, hanging up the call.

As he sits on the edge of his bed, he thinks over his father's words. His father always gave him the advice that he needed, and he never had reason to doubt him, but this time he couldn't shake the feeling that he was wrong. He had to be missing something. Some way to help Ace.

"I'll have to think deeply on this one. I'm not letting my leader down twice." He says to himself. "But for now I need my rest. Today has been a long and taxing day."

He retires to lying down in his bed, awaiting the sweet embrace of sleep.

* * *

Ozpin sat in his office, late at night reading the reports of the mission, kindly provided by Weiss Schnee, waiting patiently for them to arrive.

He had put out the call as soon as he had learned of the accident in the forest. He had underestimated the actual numbers of Grimm before the mission. One more mistake of many to add in his life.

As he scanned over the last of the paperwork, his elevator doors opened. Two people, a tall man with slightly spiked, black hair and blue eyes, accompanied by a slightly shorter woman with medium length, caramel hair and brown eyes, stepped out and approached Ozpin.

"You're here. Welcome to Beacon. I trust your trip here was pleasant, relatively speaking of course." Ozpin greets the pair politely. The man nods in response.

"The pilot was most accommodating to us for our trip over." He answers.

"I'm sorry we couldn't meet on much more pleasant circumstances." Ozpin says.

The woman spoke up next with a worried tone. It was evident that she had been crying.

"Where is he Ozpin? Where is our son?"

* * *

**A/N: Holy crap. Things are getting even more interesting. I'm proud of this chapter for a lot of reasons, but length certainly ain't one of them. I know this is a bit shorter than most of the work I've been putting out lately and I'm sorry, but trust me. The next chapter all but makes up for it in length and content. It's the big one and you're not gonna want to miss a single second of it. Until then, I bid all of you lovely people aidou. Remember to Favorite, Follow, or Review. Any and all would be deeply appreciated.**


	24. Chapter 22

**Anger and Forgiveness: Zweii and Ruby's Heartfelt Pleas**

* * *

Ruby awoke that morning to the sounds of machines beeping and clicking. As she rubbed her eyes free of sleep she examined her surroundings. She had fallen asleep in Ace's recovery room, sitting in one of the chairs.

The first thing she noticed was what was perched in the window. A small Nevermore, silently looking into the room. It turns its head to stare at Ruby for a few seconds before flying off. How unusual.

The second thing she noticed was the slight heaviness surrounding her. She looks down to find a blanket wrapped around her from the neck down, probably provided by one of her teammates.

She looks at the fallen leader with sorrow. He still hadn't woken up and he was quickly running out of time. After a few minutes the nurse from yesterday walks in.

"Good morning." She greets politely.

"Morning." Ruby replies absent mindedly. The nurse notes this in her response.

"You know visiting hours were over at midnight." She informs with a hint of humor in her voice.

"Oh sorry. I didn't mean to…" Ruby began, trying to apologize.

"Hey its okay, I was just trying to lighten up the mood. We all understand what you must be feeling right now." She says looking over to her patient.

"Oh, well thanks for trying." Ruby replies as the nurse begins checking on the equipment and readings. "What are you doing?" Ruby asks as the nurse reviews the data.

"I'm just checking to see if any change has occurred. I know you are unaware of this but he almost didn't survive the night. He's stable now. Quite the fighter he is. Other than that there's been no improvement."

"Oh." Ruby says glumly after hearing that.

"So are you his girlfriend or something?" The nurse asks, making conversation as she worked.

"Oh, no we're just really good friends. Or at least we were." Ruby replies.

"Sorry. I just assumed because of how much you seem to care about him." She says, as she grabs an I.V. bag. "I must say, I'm rather surprised."

"Why is that?" Ruby asks.

"Oh come on now. You can't honestly tell me you don't feel _something_ for him." She says replacing the near empty bag with the fresh one.

"I don't know. I guess I never really thought about." Ruby answers very downcast.

"I see." The nurse says smiling. "Look, I may just be the nurse here, but I think there is definitely a strong bond between you two. Something stronger than mere friendship, even if it hasn't been discovered yet."

"But what if he never wakes up? What if he…" Ruby asks pitifully, unable to say the last word.

"What if he does? I know things may seem hopeless right now, but miracles do happen. Maybe you should think more on this so you know what to do if he wakes up." She suggests, walking towards the door. "I'll see you around Miss Rose."

"Okay. Thank you… Uh…"

"Ha ha ha. Just call me Amber. It is my name after all." She laughs before leaving.

As soon as Amber had left, Yang walked in with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk.

"Good morning sis. I brought you some food." She greets cheerily, though anyone could tell it was mostly faked.

"Thanks Yang." Ruby says, accepting the plate and the glass. "Hey Yang? Did you bring me this blanket?" Ruby asks remembering the cloth draped around her.

"Nope. Weiss did. Said she didn't want her leader sleeping in an uncomfortably cold medical room or something like that." Yang answers rolling her eyes playfully. "So how is he?" She asks taking a more serious tone.

"Amber says he had some problems last night, but he's fine for now." Ruby answers.

"Who's Amber?" Yang asks,

"Amber's the nurse from yesterday. She just left before you got here."

"Oh. She seems nice." Yang notes.

Ruby takes a small bite out of her cookie before setting it aside, like she suddenly had no interest in it.

"What's the matter Rubes? You love cookies." Yang asks.

"I just don't feel like eating right now." Ruby answers.

"Ruby…" The older sister sighs. She had seen this behavior before. The emptiness, the lack of energy and appetite. It was just like when her mother died. It hurt to see her little sister so broken again.

She wraps her arms around Ruby in a tight embrace, doing the same thing she had done after Ruby had lost her mother. She closes her eyes and begins to sing.

_"__Don't you worry about the dark,_

_I will light up the night with the love in my heart._

_I will burn like the sun,_

_I will keep you safe and warm."_

The words came slow and passionate. Ruby recognized the song immediately and hugged her sister tight as she began to rock side to side. This song was much more to her than precious words. It was an oath from her sister that was made so very long ago.

_"__Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day,_

_I will be there to take all your fears away._

_With a touch of my hand,_

_I will turn your life to gold._

_With a touch of my hand,_

_I'll turn your life to gold…"_

When the song finishes, Ruby looks up to her sister with a smile.

"Thank you Yang."

"I'm always here for my sis, no matter how much she grows up." Yang smiles, clutching the locket Ruby gave her as a gift. "The rest of AZRE are on the way over right now." Yang informs.

"What about the others?" Ruby asks.

"JNPR visited last night after you fell asleep. Weiss and Blake are studying. I think they're trying to keep their minds off of things. Plus Weiss didn't want to fall behind in her studies."

"What about Sun?"

"Dunno. Probably hanging with Blake." Yang guesses.

"Hey guys, we're here." Matthew says as Zweii, Dezaryl, and himself walked in.

"Hey guys." Yang says returning the greeting.

"So how is he?" Zweii asks getting straight to the point.

"He got worse last night, but he's stable for now." Ruby answers, shaking her head.

"Dang." Zweii sighs in disappointment.

"So where did you disappear to yesterday Zweii?" Yang asks curiously.

"I made a phone call to my father. He always gives me strong advice when I need it. I was hoping he might know something we could do to help, but no luck." He explains. "I just wish there was something we could do. Ace always helps us and the one time he really needs it we can't help him!" He yells growing more and more furious.

Smoke begins to emanate from his mouth, his Semblance reacting to his emotions.

"Whoa! Simmer down Dragon Breath. Burning down the medical ward isn't going to help any of us." Yang says mockingly.

Zweii just stares at her for a second before responding.

"Says the girl that would blow up an entire dance club because her hair got touched." He scoffs.

"Hey! It isn't easy keeping such a glorious mane like this." She says flipping a handful of hair forward for emphasis.

The group begins to laugh for the first time since the accident. But as quickly as it started, they all stopped when they heard the door handle turn. Ozpin stood just to the side holding the door for his two visitors. The woman calmly walks to Ace's bedside and kneels down. She runs a single finger across his exposed cheek.

Matthew just bowed his head to avoid looking.

"Matt, do you know these people?" Dezaryl asks his partner. He nods in response.

"They're his parents." He half whispers.

Without even looking from her child, the woman greets Matthew.

"It's nice to see you again Matthew."

"It's good to see you too, Ma'am." He replies.

She looks up at Zweii and Dezaryl.

"You must be the rest of Ace's team." She observes, looking between the two.

"Yes Ma'am. I'm Dezaryl, Matthew's partner." The archer says introducing himself.

Zweii puts his arm across his chest and bows.

I am Zweii Dragos. I'm your son's friend and partner."

"A pleasure I'm sure." She says emotionlessly.

She then turns her sight on the sisters behind her. She glares daggers at the red and black themed girl.

"You must be Beacon's runt." She says with malice in her voice.

Ruby's eyes widen at the sudden attack.

"What did you just call my sister!?" Yang growls as she stands up, anger in her eyes.

"You heard perfectly clear what I said, Xiao Long." She says without flinching at the furious blonde. Returning her attention to Ruby, she continues. "I don't care what Ozpin said about you. You are not fit to attend Beacon. You're no Huntress. You're a liability."

"Rebecca! That's uncalled for!" Ace's father says scolding his wife.

"Damion, we may never see our son again, and it's all because of some child that couldn't protect herself!" She shouts, holding back tears.

Each word cut through Ruby like a knife, carving deeper and deeper into her heart. Her eyes began to water as tears formed. At the same time Yang's began to burn a violent red.

"How dare you talk to my sister like that! I don't care who you are, I'll punch your lights out for hurting her like that! She earned her right to be here just like everyone else!" She yells raising her fists.

She was stopped when she felt someone grab her from behind. She looks back to see that Matthew had put her in a full nelson hold, with his arms being converted to metal. He simply shakes his head at her.

Yang while angry that he was protecting that woman, understood and returned to staring at Mother Wolfblade.

"You know, she didn't ask for Ace to risk his life to save her. He did that all on his own." Yang growls.

"Why you ungrateful brat! If she really belonged here, then he wouldn't be lying in a medical room!" She roars.

"You are so asking for a beating lady!" Yang yells.

"Yang, no!" Ruby pleads getting everyone's attention.

"Do you hear the garbage she's saying about you?"

"I know Yang, but she has every right to be angry."

"No way! It wasn't your fault. She has no right to be angry at you!"

"Hmph. At least she knows when to take responsibility for her actions. She should be sent back to Signal. Maybe in a couple of years she'll actually be ready." Rebecca states.

"That does it! Let me go Matt! I'm about to teach her a lesson she won't soon forget!" She screams, struggling to break free. Her hair was a blaze with anger.

Meanwhile Dezaryl was getting steadily frustrated with the entire ordeal and had finally reached the extent of his patience. This had to stop.

"ENOUGH!" He yells stopping the quarrelling. At the same time Zweii noticed a spike in the medical machines monitoring Ace. Maybe the argument was affecting the readings.

As soon as Dezaryl had stopped the yelling, the readings went back to normal.

_'__Hmm. That was strange.'_ He thinks to himself. He then returns to looking at the archer that stopped all the fighting.

"This is foolish. No one is helping anything by screaming at one another."Dezaryl states, much more calmly. "Yang, you do realize your hair is on fire and that Matt's holding you right?" He asks.

"Yeah, so what?" She huffs.

"Well his arms are made of metal right now and are absorbing all of the heat." He points out deadpanning.

Yang looks back to see Matthew cringing as his arms glowed a faint red.

"Oh Dust! I'm sorry Matt." She apologizes.

"It's… Fine." He says through the pain.

"You can let go now. I won't deck her." She promises.

Matthew lets go and turns off his Semblance, stopping the intense burn.

"Ahh." He sighs in relief.

Dezaryl looks at Ace's mother with a frown.

"Mrs. Wolfblade, while I understand that you are upset about this you must understand that we're just as concerned as you are about your son. He's our friend after all. However Ruby is not to blame for this." He explains respectfully.

"Young Ravenhawk is correct." Ozpin says joining the conversation. "It's my fault. May we perhaps talk over coffee? I fear tensions are high right now."

She sighs before walking towards the headmaster.

"Fine." She replies simply.

"Mr. Wolfblade, you are welcome to join us." Ozpin says warmly.

"No thank you. I would like to have some time with my son's friends." He answers.

"As you wish." Ozpin replies before escorting Ace's mother out of the room.

Ace's father walks into the room and towards Ruby and Yang. Ruby retreats to her sister's side, preparing for another verbal assault.

"Don't be scared Ruby." He says gently. "I must apologize for my wife's behavior. What she said was both false and out of line." He says apologetically.

Ruby peeks up at the man. He did not act or speak out of anger, but out of understanding. Ruby shyly stretches her hand towards him.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Wolfblade." She says meekly.

"Oh for the love of Remnant. Mr. Wolfblade is my father. Call me Damion, or D if you prefer. And it's nice to finally meet you as well." He says with a chuckle, shaking her hand firmly. "Matthew, good to see you too. You been taking care of Vulcan?" He asks the hammer wielder.

"You know it Pops." Matthew says with a smile.

"Pops?" everyone asks confused.

"Ha ha. When Matt here became my son's first true friend, they hung out so much that he's practically family." Damion explains.

"I gotta say D, you're a lot different than your wife." Yang says smiling.

"Yes well my wife can be a tad overprotective of her child. She's actually very pleasant once you get to know her. She's been a little stressed out since we heard about what happened in the forest."

"It was an accident." Ruby says sadly.

"Of course it was Ruby. No one ever wanted this to happen. It's not your fault." He says comforting the girl. "I am curious. How much has Ace told all of you about himself?" Damion asks.

"Well we know about Shadow." Dezaryl says.

"Ah Shadow. I remember the day Ace first brought him home. Nearly gave his mother a heart attack." Damion laughs.

"What about you?" Ruby asks curiously.

"At the time I was at a loss for words. You don't just walk up with a creature of Grimm and say 'Hey I found him in the woods and healed him. Can we keep him?' and not expect some resistance." He replies. "But Ace always knew something good when he saw it. I never thought I'd see the day when my son would be asleep in his bed with a Beowolf curled up at the end. But enough about that. Did he happen to tell you anything else?"

"He told us he's a Half Breed if that's what you're wondering." Zweii answers.

"I see. I'm very surprised he trusted you all enough to tell you that." Damion says impressed at what he heard.

"He was very hesitant to tell us to say the least but after Blake was found out to be a Faunus, he felt that it was time for himself to come out as well." Dezaryl states.

"Well you must understand that it wasn't easy for him. I was very fearful that if it wasn't for Matthew, he wouldn't have any friends at all. I can't tell you how happy I am that he found such accepting friends."

"Ace is our friend and as we told him and Blake, we don't care about that kind of thing." Dezaryl says.

"So Damion, are you by chance a Half Breed as well?" Zweii asks.

"Yes I am. My mother is the great grandchild of Ace's great, great grandparents." Damion answers.

"Luna Wolfblade correct?" Zweii asks, remembering what Matthew had told them.

"My, he has told you a lot. Yes, Luna is my mother."

"What about your wife?"

"Human all the way on that one, but she has the heart of an angel in my opinion. Her and her family were very open to my family despite who we are." Damion answers.

"It must have been hard to find someone like that." Yang says.

"True, but it was well worth the wait. It's not easy finding people so understanding to our kind, which is why Rebecca is so protective of her Little Wolf Pup."

"Little Wolf Pup?" Yang snickers. "That's freaking adorable! Matt, why have you not ever mentioned this?" Yang laughs.

"To be honest, I didn't even know myself." He says, joining her laughter.

"I know I give nicknames and all that, but that is by far better than mine."

"Really? And what have you called Ace?" Damion asks smiling.

"For the longest time I've just been calling him Wolfie." Yang giggles.

"Ha ha ha! Now that is fitting!" Damion laughs. Apparently he was on the same page as Yang.

"She really loves him a lot. It's no wonder she hates me." Ruby says sadly.

"Ruby, Rebecca doesn't hate you. She just needs time to cool down. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to hear exactly what happened."

* * *

Ozpin pours a fresh cup of coffee for his guest, offering it to her before serving himself. Once he had poured one for himself he sits down at his desk, facing the woman.

Rebecca takes a small sip of her drink, testing it for both temperature and flavor. Inwardly she smiles at the caffeine filled beverage. It was made to perfection and was quite delicious.

"I hope it's to your liking. It's one of my favorites." Ozpin says before taking a drink from his own.

"It's lovely. Thank you." Rebecca replies.

"Mrs. Wolfblade, your son has done very well for himself here at Beacon. His grades, while not top of the class, are excellent and he's leading one of our most promising teams we've seen in some time. This is why I chose to send Ace and his team on the forest mission." Ozpin explains.

"However my reports told me that there was an exceptionally large amount of Grimm, too many for a single team to take out safely, and therefore I sent our other high ranking first years, Team RWBY and Team JNPR as well. When asked by the students, I also allowed another of their friends to assist them. But I made a mistake. I did not research the mission thoroughly and because of this did not anticipate the actual strength and number of Grimm in the forest." He says, pausing his explanation for a drink.

"Had I done my job correctly, I would have noticed the extra Grimm and sent second or third year teams to take care of the mission." He sighs.

"So that makes the girl's incompetence acceptable?" Rebecca asks irritably.

"I can assure you Miss Rose is more capable than you give her credit for. Unfortunately the unaccounted Grimm proved rather taxing for all the members involved." He says pulling up the footage just before Ace was impaled. "These are the readings taken from each of the students' scrolls right before Miss Rose was saved by your son."

The screen showed a still frame scene of Ace and Ruby right before the crippled Death Stalker attacked. Next to each person was a gauge that measured Aura levels.

"Your son had almost a fifth of his aura remaining to shield him from harm. Ruby however… Had none left to protect herself." Ozpin states.

Rebecca's eyes widen in realization, looking at the girl's near empty gauge.

"But that means…" She starts.

"Yes. If Ace had not intervened in the way that he did, Miss Rose would more than likely not have been able to survive the attack." Ozpin finishes for her.

The scene moved forward, Rebecca watching closely. She could see the terror in the young girl's silver eyes at the sight of the Death Stalker as Ace ran to aid her. Ozpin turns off the screen before Rebecca could watch her son get wounded.

"Between Ace's armor and his remaining Aura, added to the fact that the Death Stalker was severely weakened was enough to at least give him a chance to survive. He knew Ruby was in danger and was willing to take the hit for her knowing what would likely happen. Under normal circumstances Miss Rose would have been able to use her Aura to make a hasty retreat. If anyone is to blame for all of this it is me." Ozpin concludes.

Rebecca lowers her head, looking into her coffee sadly.

"I understand now." She says before taking another drink, setting the mug back down shortly after.

"Your son is a very unique individual. So full of surprises." Ozpin grins pausing until Rebecca met eyes with him. "Grimm armor? And a domesticated Beowolf? Never would I have believed such a thing."

Rebecca laughs at the headmaster's comment. She looks back into her drink, gazing at her reflection, with a small smile.

* * *

"I see. So if what you say is true, then Ace willingly shielded you from harm." Damion says to Ruby sighing. "That boy could never allow something like that to happen to anyone. It's just not in his nature." He says looking at his son. "To think he was willing to trade his life for yours…" He stops his thought trailing off. With that he stands up and leaves the room.

"Um, I'm going to make sure he's okay. Matthew says following him out the door.

"It's getting late. We've been here most of the day." Dezaryl says noting the low hanging sun out the window. How they had managed to lose an entire day talking with their friend's father was beyond him. "We should probably get some food and rest."

"Agreed." Zweii says leaving with him, but not before shooting Ace one last worried glance.

As Yang gets up to leave, she is stopped by Ruby's hand grabbing her arm.

"Yang… I don't want to leave. Can you stay with me? Just for a little longer?" Ruby asks.

"Sure thing Ruby." Yang replies sitting back down next to Ruby.

A few minutes later, the door reopened and Rebecca walked in.

"I'm sorry. I'll just leave." Ruby says, hastily getting up.

"No, you won't." Rebecca replies before closing the door behind her.

"But…" Ruby squeaks nervously.

"Hush now child. It's alright." She says in a soothing voice, a gentle smile gracing her face. "Ruby. I…" She pauses returning to her sorrowful expression. "I owe you an apology. Both of you." She says looking at Yang. "I was so worried about Ace, I wasn't thinking clearly. I was angry because he got hurt and I took my anger out on you. I want you to know that I didn't mean what I said and…" she pauses again as her voice cracks and she begins to cry. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Ruby couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ace's mother was apologizing. She really didn't hate her.

Ruby wraps her arms around Rebecca, startling her slightly.

"I forgive you." Ruby tells the woman that had been reduced to tears in front of her.

"Thank you Ruby. I don't deserve your forgiveness. Still, I want to make things right between us." Rebecca says returning Ruby's gesture.

"Let's just start over." Ruby suggests.

"I would like that."

Soon after calming down, the three were happily conversing together, talking through the night.

"So you two went to Signal as well?" Rebecca asks the sisters.

"Yeah. Our uncle is even a teacher there." Ruby answers.

"Ruby always wanted to be a Huntress like our parents since she was little." Yang states. "Our uncle taught her how to use her scythe Crescent Rose, early on. I swear she's obsessed with it." Yang mocks.

"I am not!" Ruby protests.

"You call her your sweetheart Ruby."

"So I assume you are a weapon enthusiast then?" Rebecca asks Ruby.

"You could say that. Weapons have always been my interest." Ruby explains.

"Ace had a fondness of them as well. I guess that's to be expected when you grow up in a forge. I never thought he'd leave to become a Huntsman though."

"Did you not want him to?" Yang asks.

"I always supported his decisions, but I was worried about his decision to hunt monsters." She replies.

"You didn't want him to get hurt…" Yang says in understanding of her reasoning.

"Always a mother's greatest concern for her children." Rebecca says looking at the bed.

"He's strong. If anyone can recover from this, it's your son." Yang says smiling.

"Thank you Yang. I hope what you say is true."

"What do you think Ruby?" Yang asks her little sister.

"Yeah. I'm sure he'll be fine." Ruby sighs.

"Ruby what's wrong? You do want him to wake up don't you?" Yang asks.

"Of course I do! I just… What if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore?" Ruby asks.

"Ruby why would you even think that?"

"He got hurt because of me Yang. You all say it isn't my fault, but I'm still the reason he's here right now." Ruby says upset. "He probably hates me."

"That's not true." Blake says loudly, everyone turning to look at her. She stood in the doorway with Weiss by her side.

Weiss was glaring angrily at Ruby. She slowly makes her way into the room and towards Ruby.

"Ruby Rose! You must be the most childish, braindead, oblivious dunce in the existence of Remnant!" Weiss yells.

"Wha- What?" Ruby asks, surprised at her partners outburst.

"He could never hate you Ruby. He cares too much about you to hate you for this. Why do you think he saved you in the first place?" Blake asks.

"I don't understand." Ruby whimpers.

"For the love of Remnant! Do I have to spell it out for you?" Weiss yells. "He's in love with you, you dolt!"

"What!?" Came the combined response of Rebecca, Yang, and Ruby.

"He… He loves me?" Ruby asks confused.

"Yes! He's always loved you. You're just too dense to figure it out." Weiss snaps.

"If he loved me then why didn't he say anything?" Ruby asks.

"To protect you." Blake answers. "When he told us about his heritage, he explained the pain and suffering that his family has gone through. He was afraid that if you knew he loved you that there was a chance that you would return his affections. If you were in a relationship with him, others would likely do the same to you. He didn't want you to go through what he has even if it meant he could never be with you." Blake finishes.

"He told us he realized he had feelings for you after your trip to the city together." Weiss adds.

"That was months ago!" Yang shouts in shock.

"So he's had a crush on me for months and he never said anything? Just to protect me?" Ruby asks.

"That's an accurate way to say it, yes." Blake answers.

Ruby swiftly turns her to look at Ace. All this time that he was in love with her he never said a word, and she had been too naïve to notice. The thought was overwhelming.

"Ruby, I know that this may seem very sudden to you but you need to think hard on this. Do you love him back?" Blake asks.

_'__I don't know. I mean I like him as a friend, but do I like him like in that way?' _Ruby asks herself.

"It's okay if you don't have the answer just yet." Blake informs her.

"How will I know?" Ruby asks.

"Trust in your heart Ruby." Rebecca says calmly.

Ruby continues to stare at Ace, beginning to contemplate what he really meant to her.

* * *

"Zweii! Slow down!" Matthew exclaims, frantically chasing after the young paladin.

"Matt you know as well as I do that we are running out of time. We need to be there now!" He yells back.

"Are you sure that this is going to work?" Dezaryl asks as he too runs after Zweii.

"I already told you I don't know if it will work, but I'm not going to let that stop me from trying!" Zweii answers, rounding a corner.

"I haven't run this fast in a very long time." Damion puffs as he tries to keep up with the group of teenagers.

"We're almost there!" Zweii announces as they draw near the medical room.

Hastily he flings open the door, startling its occupants.

"Zweii? What are you doing here so late?" Yang asks.

"I may have thought of a way to bring Ace back." He declares.

"You have? How?" Blake asks.

"It's just a hunch but I think it may work. See when Yang and Mrs. Wolfblade were fighting, the machines started acting up. I thought it was just because the noise was messing with the equipment somehow. But when I got back to the room I got to thinking. According to the nurse, this condition affects even ones soul, and part of Ace's is missing. That prevents him from recovering and waking up, putting him in this coma like state. Then it hit me. I remembered hearing about instances where people in comas sometimes respond to outside stimuli. This is represented in brain wave spikes." He explains.

"So you think that it wasn't the noise messing up the machines, it was Ace?" Weiss asks.

"Exactly. Somehow he can still hear us. Probably not everything but somethings."

"I'm still not following where this is going. How does this help Ace?" Rebecca asks.

"Whatever part of Ace that is gone isn't just missing. It's lost and can't find its way back. If I'm right and we can properly stimulate his consciousness, we may be able to guide him back."

"So we have to yell at him to bring him back?" Yang asks.

"Not necessarily. He just has to hear us." Zweii answers, walking up to Ace's bedside.

"Go for it Zweii. It's as good idea as any right now." Rebecca says gently. "Just do what you think will work and try your best."

"I will." He says removing his helmet. His brown hair falls forward covering his forehead but stopping just above his deep blue eyes, which were now focused on his leader.

"Ace." He starts, looking at the machine. There was no change. "Ace." He tries again not bothering to look at the machine a second time. "I know you can hear me. You can't give up just yet. We're not giving up on you so don't you dare quit fighting. I won't forgive you if you die on us." He states.

"I should have been there. I should have had your back. I should have helped you fight. But I couldn't. I couldn't then and I'm not even sure if I can help you now. But I can't stand by and watch you die. You're a great fighter and an even greater friend. You're far too strong a person to just give up. If you died, you would hurt all of us. Me, Matt, Dez, RWBY, JNPR… Everyone. So please, come back to us. We need you to be okay. We need our friend back." Zweii says finishing.

"That was wonderful Zweii. Thank you." Rebecca says.

"I meant every word. I just hope they weren't in vain." He sighs looking at his unmoving leader.

_'__It was worth a shot.'_ The knight thinks to himself.

Without a sound, Ruby stands up and walks over to Ace's side.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" Yang asks.

"Making my decision." She replies. "Ace. Remember when we first met? Back in the Emerald Forest? It seems so long ago, but at the same time I remember it like it was yesterday. I had a nightmare that I lost everyone and couldn't do a thing to stop it. I was so scared. I doubted myself as a leader."

"But then you were there, to help me through everything. You didn't even know me but you wanted to help. And you did. You gave me hope that I could be a better, stronger leader. You comforted my fears. You became one of my closest friends that day. I never realized how close we really were. I guess I really am just a child sometimes. I didn't even realize your true feelings for me. Looking back on it now, it was really obvious." She smiles briefly.

"Until now I wasn't even sure if I even felt the same towards you. But then I remember all of the fun times we shared together. The day in the city, the Halloween party, our Christmas together. How we always made each other smile each day. I thought really hard about it and… I…" She pauses, tearing up again.

"I love you too! I love you and I don't want to lose you." She confesses, sobbing. Her tears fell on his face like gentle rain drops.

"Please… Don't leave me… I need you." She cries softly.

She did not cry alone. Everyone in the room shared her pain. They cried together. They cried for their friend, and they cried for Ruby.

"… I will never leave you." Came a weak but familiar voice.

Ruby's eyes shot open at the voice. Was she only imagining what she heard? No. Everyone else seemed to hear it as well.

"A-Ace?" She asks, a glimmer of hope appearing in her eyes.

Tears continued to stream down her face as she stared at him. Carefully she removes the life support mask from his face. Another tear falls upon the freshly exposed skin.

"Hey. Could you stop? That stuff's kinda cold." He finally says with a weak smile.

"He's awake!" Matthew cheers.

Ace's parents hug each other in relief at the announcement.

Ruby's crying only intensified as she quickly nuzzled her head into Ace's chest. Many tears had been shed in the last few days, but none were filled with the joy and relief that now filled Ruby's.

"Hey, it's okay now." Ace says trying to comfort her. But just for him to be awake was more than enough for her. The sound of his heart beat growing stronger, his breathing becoming more comfortable. It was all she needed.

"I thought I lost you." Ruby sniffs after a few minutes of crying.

"I made you a promise didn't I?" He says softly, referring to the duo's first night together.

He tries getting up from his bed, but winces at the feeling of his stiff muscles and sore body.

"Ace! You shouldn't try to move! You need to take it easy!" Ruby cries out of concern.

"I'll go get the nurse." Blake says before dashing out of the room.

As she leaves, Ace's parents move up behind Ruby to see their son.

"Mom… Dad?" He says confused at their presence.

"Hey buddy." His father says smiling.

"How are you feeling?" His mother asks.

"I've felt better." He says with a small tired smile. "I missed you."

"We missed you too." Damion replies.

"You've grown so much since you left for this place." His mother comments, extending her hand to brush his cheek with her fingers. "But no matter what you will always be my Little Wolf Pup." She coos causing him to blush.

"Mom." He groans, still keeping his smile. "Ruby." He calls to the crimsonette. "I need to speak to you. It's very important." He informs her.

"Okay." She replies simply.

"We'll give you some privacy." Damion says, leading his wife away.

Ace's friends followed suit with Yang taking the rear.

"You too Yang." Ace says stopping her at the door.

She turns to look at him with confusion in her expression, but rather than question it, she closes the door behind her and takes her place beside her sister.

"So what do you need to tell us?" Yang asks.

"I have a message from…"

* * *

**A/N: What the heck!? Another cliffhanger!? Yes, but fret not. I will be doing things a bit differently for the final two parts of this season finale. They are much shorter in length and I, 1) Am not entirely evil and won't make you wait for the answer to the cliff hanger (for very long), and 2) Do not feel right making you all wait so long for shorter chapters. So I will aim to release the next chapter Wednesday, and the last part Next Saturday.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this emotional rollercoaster of a chapter. Once again thank you all so much for reading and supporting me and my attempt at literature. See you all soon.**


	25. Chapter 23

**A Fateful Meeting: Ace's Race Against Time**

* * *

I awake feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. I look up to see that while the sun was indeed out it was sinking lower and would be setting in a few hours.

_'__Ugh, how long have I been out?'_ I wonder to myself as I slowly rise from where I've been laying. _'Wait! Where is everybody?'_

I look around frantically to find anyone. As I look around, I realize I'm not in the Emerald Forest anymore. There's no forest at all, just a beautiful field of flowers. It seems to stretch on endlessly.

I seem to be on a large hill side in terms of terrain. I concentrate on scanning my surroundings, taking in the various sights around me. A few sizable boulders litter the landscape, as well as a large pond of crystal clear water sitting nearby.

The sky is bright blue with white fluffy clouds hanging in various places. I can feel a slight breeze flowing through the air, making the flowers and tall grasses dance and sway. It's beautiful here. Wherever I am.

"You're finally awake." I hear a voice from behind me say.

I quickly turn around to see a figure turned away from me, standing beneath a lone oak tree. The tree is rather large, indicating it is very old.

The figure wore all white with a hood and cape that looked a lot like Ruby's. But This person is taller than her.

"You seem familiar." I say softly. "Do I know you?" I ask.

"Yes and at the same time you do not." She answers cryptically.

"Look I don't mean to be rude, but I'm already confused as it is, so if you could refrain from speaking in riddles it would be really appreciated." I tell her. "Who are you?"

"Forgive me. Maybe this will help you." She says turning around to face me.

My eyes lock with silver eyes, the same silver eyes as Ruby, and her hair. Her hair was black with red tips hanging past her shoulders. It couldn't be.

"Mrs. Rose?" I ask in disbelief.

"Please, call me Summer." She says smiling. She walks forward and wraps me in a warm embrace. She's definitely Ruby's mother. "Thank you for saving my little Rose."

"Wait." I say breaking free of her embrace. "How is this possible? I thought you were…"

"No longer of the living?" She finishes. I nod in response. "Do you remember anything from before you woke up?" She asks me.

"I remember we were on a mission, and there was so many Grimm." I answer as I recall what happened. "There was a Death Stalker. It was going to hurt Ruby so I ran to protect her." My eyes widen with realization. "I was wounded." I say, the words barely coming out of my mouth, as I remember.

I remember the stinger impaling my back. My bones breaking, blood draining from my body. The scene of Ruby calling my name as tears ran down her face flashes in my mind.

"Am… Am I dead?" I ask her hesitantly.

"You were critically injured. Technically you are still alive but…"

"But what?" I ask.

"Young Wolfblade, have you ever heard of Aura Lockdown?" She questions.

"I can't say that I have." I answer.

"Aura Lockdown is a rare usually triggered by a very traumatic injury. When you were wounded you went into a state of Aura Lockdown. If you hadn't you would have died just from the pain. Instead, your body released a part of your soul saving you from that fate. Your consciousness. However Aura Lockdown is very dangerous. If you cannot return to your body soon you will die." She explains.

I feel my heart drop as I take all this information in.

"I see." I say sitting down in the grass.

"You're taking this much better than I had anticipated." Summer says standing behind me.

"Ruby is safe. That's all that matters to me at this point." I reply.

But was it really that simple? Could I really be at peace with all of this? There was so much that I wanted to do. I didn't even get to say goodbye. Now I may never see anyone again.

What will become of my team? My friends and family? Even Shadow.

"Tell me, why did you choose to save Ruby instead of avoiding injury?" Summer asks.

"I was warned in a dream that I'd have to pick between myself and her. I didn't know what it meant at the time. When I saw what was happening, I knew who I was going to pick. I chose Ruby to live." I answer.

"So you came to her aid without so much as a second thought?" She asks.

"I suppose I did. But if I were given a second chance, had I the time to really think it through, I would have chosen her again anyways. I didn't want to see her get hurt." I reply.

"Why is that?"

"Because… I love her." I answer with a small smile. "Isn't that why you did it?" I ask.

"Yes. I loved her with all my heart. I still do." She says pausing briefly. "I approve." She says smiling.

"What?" I ask, confused as to what she was referring to.

"I approve." She repeats. "You have my blessing to date my daughter, provided you can make it back of course."

"But…"

"I know you are worried about her dating you because you are a Half Breed. But you shouldn't worry about the negative reactions people will have. Both of you care very much about each other, and that is all that should matter."

"Thank you." I smile. "I think you're right. I just needed to hear it myself."

"I always had a feeling you would choose her to protect." Summer states.

"You knew this would happen?" I ask. She nods in response. Then it dawns on me. I stand up and face her. "You were the voice in my dreams!"

"Yes, I was." She confirms.

"That's why you seemed so familiar, both here and in the dreams, even though I had never met you. You reminded me of Ruby."

"You were the only one I could trust to speak with." She informs me.

"Why me? Why not talk to your daughter? Why not warn her?" I ask.

"I tried. I have tried for many years to speak with her. But she cannot let go of me leaving her. It's all she seems to remember. I tried to visit her to comfort her when she was having doubts as a leader." She explains.

"But she had a nightmare instead." I tell her.

"I never meant to hurt her. I only wished to help her, for her to know that I will always love and watch over her. To tell her how proud I am of her and Yang. But instead I unintentionally triggered the nightmare and led her to you. The Grimm Warrior and his pet Beowolf. The one that would help her through her fears." She says with a smile.

"You did what I couldn't, and for that I am eternally grateful. That is why I chose you. Why I continued to visit you in your dreams."

"But you didn't look like, well, you. You looked like a white ember." I tell her.

"A soul. I came to you as the essence that makes us who we are. While I trusted you, I could not reveal my identity to you until now." She explains.

"Alright. Less creepy." I say relieved.

"I heard that eerie remark you made." She jests.

"Well it was." I laugh.

I look up at the cracked moon hovering overhead. We had been talking for quite some time and failed to notice it become dark. The stars above shine bright like thousands of beaming diamonds.

"It's nice up here." I say.

"It is lovely isn't it?" She asks.

"Mhmm." I hum in response, the cool breeze blowing through the area.

Suddenly my body tenses up as I am wracked with great pain in my back.

_'__What's happening!?'_ I mentally scream as I collapse backwards onto the ground, thrashing around in pain.

"Oh no." Summer says, rushing over to me and quickly restraining me as best as she can.

"IT HURTS!" I shout.

"Stay strong. Your soul is weakening. If you succumb to the pain now it's all over for you." She informs me.

"MAKE… IT… STOP!" I yell as the pain spreads like a wildfire all over my body. Everything hurts. "AHHH!" I scream in one final cry of pain.

Then… Nothing. The pain slowly subsides, leaving me shaking all over, breathing heavily. A few minutes is all I need to begin recovering. All the while I notice my head has been move on to Summer's lap.

"Thank Dust. You made it through." She says softly.

"That… That was horrible." I pant.

"I know. But you lived. You should be thankful for that right?" She asks. I nod awkwardly, my head still laid on her lap.

"I can see where Ruby gets her optimism. She gets a lot from you actually."

"Is that so bad?" She asks.

"What do you think?" I ask with a smile.

"I'll take that as a compliment then." She says smiling back.

"I'm so tired." I sigh. That awful experience just now really did a number on my energy.

"You should probably rest. You will need your strength if you hope to return to your friends. I'll be here when you wake." She says gently.

I nod and quickly drift to sleep.

* * *

"You're no Huntress, You're a liability."

_'__Huh? That sounds like… Mom!'_ I think as I am roused from my rest by her voice.

"How dare you talk to my sister like that!"

"Yang? What's going on? They sound like they are arguing." I ask in confusion.

"You hear them." Summer says simply.

"How?" I ask.

"You are still connected to the physical world. This may be how you can return." She explains as the argument continues.

"ENOUGH!" Dez's voice says loudly echoing briefly before it becomes silent again.

"I need to get back to them." I state as I stand up. "You said that their voices might be the way back. How?"

"Follow them. Your soul resonates to their emotions. Let them guide you home." Summer answers.

"When I heard them, it sounded like they were coming from that direction." I say pointing towards a forest far off in the distance.

"Then we have no time to lose. I will follow you. You know, to keep you company." She smiles. "Let's just see if you can keep up."

And just like that she's off in a flash of white petals.

"Hey no fair." I shout as I take off after her.

We run through the endless fields as fast as we can, talking along the way. We've been running for hours and we still haven't reached the forest. The sun is already setting and it's becoming increasingly dark.

My legs are starting to ache from this continuing marathon. But I have to keep going.

Summer however looks like she's really enjoying this.

"Aren't you getting tired?" I ask.

"Nope!" she happily chirps her reply. "I used to run like this all the time when Ruby discovered her Semblance. Keeping up with her is like chasing the wind. But she loved the feeling of speeding around while I tried to chase her. To her it was a game she loved to play and I too enjoyed it myself."

I smile as I picture an even younger Ruby laughing as she sped around while her loving mother chased her.

"Such fond memories." She says with a sad smile.

"When I… If I get back, I promise I will pass on your message to Ruby and Yang." I say in determination.

"Thank you. It would mean more than anything for you to do that for me." She says.

The moon once again takes its place overhead and a blanket of stars covers the night sky. Soon the edge of the forest comes into view and we cease running.

"This is as far as I may go." Summer says turning towards me. "I wish you luck."

I look towards her frowning. This is where we must part ways.

"Will I… Will I ever see you again?" I ask.

"When you need me, remember to keep me close in your dreams. I will be watching." She says wrapping me in one last embrace which I immediately return. "Thank you for giving me one more run."

"I'm very glad I got to meet you. I promise I'll take care of her." I state before we separate.

"Before you go I have one last piece of advice. There will be many struggles and hardships ahead. Many forces are conspiring to disrupt the peace. Keep your friends close. You are strong together. You and your friends may be Remnant's last hope. Take care." She says.

"I will. Goodbye Summer." I say, giving my farewell.

She nods before speaking. "And thus, I kindly scatter." She says as she disappears in a flurry of white rose petals.

_'__An odd way to say goodbye… Maybe it means something.'_ I think as I am left to my solitude.

I look into the forest. The night sky has done everything in its power to cast shadows over the twists and turns within. It's completely dark, save for the few places where the light of the moon shined through.

_'__Concentrate. Remember what Luna taught you.'_

I close my eyes for a moment and open them. My half Faunus eye sight illuminates a clearer path for me. It was like switching from regular sight to looking through night vision lenses.

Carefully I step into the forest. I walk onward through the dense sea of trees. It seems to stretch on endlessly.

After a while, my energy seems to have returned a little. I begin sprinting through the forest dodging trees and limbs as I go.

"The sooner I get out of here, the sooner I get back to my friends." I say to myself.

I run and I run. Finally after what seems like an eternity of running I begin to make out what I hope is the edge of the forest. I'm almost there.

Then my body begins to fill with an intense pain, just like earlier. I trip and collapse to the dirt below.

"No… Not now…" I grunt as I lay sprawled out on the ground.

My body aches too much. I can barely move.

"I'm sorry guys. I don't… I don't think I'm coming back…"

My eyes feel heavy. I can hardly maintain consciousness now. It's over.

"Ace…" I hear a voice call to me.

"Zweii?" I say weakly.

"Ace. I know you can hear me. You can't give up just yet. We're not giving up on you so don't you dare quit fighting." He orders.

"I'm sorry… But I can't even move. I…"

"I won't forgive you if you die on us." He states.

"Zweii…"

"I should have been there. I should have had your back. I should have helped you. But I couldn't."

"It… Wasn't your fault." I rasp.

"I couldn't then and I don't even know if I can help you now. But I can't just stand by and watch you die. You're a great fighter and an even greater friend. You're far too strong a person to just give up. If you died, you would hurt all of us. Me, Matt, Dez, RWBY, JNPR… Everyone. So please, come back to us. We need you to be okay. We need our friend back."

I smile at my partner's words.

_'__Alright then.'_

"Get… Up!" I command my body, clutching the ground beneath my hands. "Zweii's right. I'm stronger than this. I'm going back… even if I have to crawl all the way there. Get up!"

I slowly get off the ground, using a tree for support. I slowly trudge towards the end of the forest, fighting through the pain. That's when I hear another voice. Ruby's voice.

"Ace. Remember when we first met? Back in the Emerald Forest?" She asks.

"How could I forget?" I say in response to her question.

"It seems so long ago, but at the same time I remember it like it was yesterday. I had a nightmare that I lost everyone and couldn't do a thing to stop it. I was so scared. I doubted myself as a leader. But then you were there, to help me through everything. You didn't even know me but you wanted to help. And you did. You gave me hope that I could be a better, stronger leader. You comforted my fears. You became one of my closest friends that day. I never realized how close we really were."

"What? How did she…" I wonder. Then I realize the answer. "Weiss and Blake." I listen as Ruby continues.

"I guess I really am just a child sometimes. I didn't even realize your true feelings for me. Looking back on it now, it was really obvious. Until now I wasn't even sure if I even felt the same towards you. But then I remember all of the fun times we shared together. The day in the city, the Halloween party, our Christmas together. How we always made each other smile each day. I though really hard about it and… I… I love you too! I love you and I don't want to lose you." I hear her crying her decision.

"Ruby…" I sigh with a smile as I step out of the forest.

Before me is a clearing leading to a cliffside. The sun barely begins to break through illuminating the sky with shades of oranges and reds. I look over the cliffside seeing nothing but white clouds below.

"I'm coming Ruby."

I turn my back to the cliffside to have one last look, before closing my eyes and leaning back, falling off the edge and into the sky.

* * *

My eyes slowly open, but my vision is hazed and blurry. Slowly it begins to clear and I can see again.

_'__Did I make it back?'_ I wonder.

I hear crying. Its then that I can feel tears falling onto my face.

"Please… I need you… Don't leave me." I hear Ruby say as more tears fall onto my cheek.

"I will never leave you." I tell her weakly, finding my voice.

"A-Ace?" Ruby asks.

She removes an oxygen mask from my face. A few more tears escape her eyes and fall on me.

"Hey could you stop? That stuff's kinda cold." I say jokingly.

"He's awake!" I hear Matt shout excitedly.

I look around the room I am in to see my friends and my parents looking at me.

_'__I'm home guys. I made it back.'_

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it. By now I think it was pretty obvious as to who it was Ace had a message from, but I bet you never expected a chapter dedicated to Ace and Summer Rose in the Afterlife. Now I did something in this chapter that I really hate to do. I introduced a character that I have almost no knowledge on, in this case Summer. Now while I do have a tendency to do stuff that defies RWBY Canon, I do not like making assumptions about the characters. I want to keep their image as close to what Monty had envisioned and created them to be. But in this case I made some educated assumptions to develop Summer Rose. Hopefully this will be the only time that this happens.**

**Alright, that's all for this small chapter. Now I'm off to prepare the final piece of this arc. See you Saturday.**


	26. Chapter 24

**Hero's Rise: Looking Towards the Future**

* * *

"M-Mom?" Ruby asks nervously.

"Yes Ruby. I have a message from your mother." I reply.

"Ace…" I turn my head to look at Yang who looks very angry. "Is this your idea of a joke!? Cuz it's not funny!" She shouts.

_'__She doesn't believe me.'_

"Maybe you were just dreaming you saw her." Ruby suggests. "You got hurt really bad."

"I wasn't dreaming." I protest. "I can prove it."

"How?" Yang asks skeptically.

"In the entire time that I have known you, neither of you have even once told me her name." I say staring back into each of their eyes. "Her name is Summer Rose."

At the mention of her name, Ruby's eyes go wide and Yang just stands there gawking.

"The last thing she told me before I left was 'And thus, I kindly scatter.' I don't know what it meant but I figured it would mean something to you two."

"Oh my Dust. You really did meet her." Yang gasps.

"I would not lie about something like this. If I may ask, I would like to know the meaning behind her words."

"It was her last goodbye to us. It was written on her headstone." Yang explains.

"I felt it was an odd way to say goodbye. Anyway this hasn't been the first time I've spoken to her." I state.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asks.

"Let me explain. The night after my teams match against JNPR, I had a strange dream. I was surrounded by darkness. I heard a voice I had never heard before telling me to wake up. When I did, I felt really weird. At first I passed it off as a random dream. But the very next night, I had the same dream, except this time I got to speak to the voice for a moment only. After that I realized these weren't normal dreams."

"I honestly thought I was going insane or something, so I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want you guys worrying. The third time I had the dream, it was the night after Blake ran off. It was because of that dream that I decided to tell you all about me being a Half Breed. The voice convinced me to tell you the truth. Summer was that voice. She was visiting me in my dreams."

I pause to look at Ruby.

"When I saw her for the first time, I knew exactly who she was, even though I've never met her before. It amazed me Ruby. You are so much like your mother. Your kindness towards the ones you strive to protect, the love for your friends and family, the way you always find a way to keep smiling. You're just like her." I state making her smile brightly. "It's actually thanks to her that we met the way we did." I tell Ruby.

"It is?" Ruby asks.

"Mhmm. The nightmare you had that caused us to meet was caused by her." I explain.

"Why would she want to give me something like that?" She asks sadly. I could see the hurt in her eyes.

"She didn't mean to. She wanted to speak with you, much like she began speaking to me. But she couldn't. Your memories of her leaving affected negatively on the dream and turned it into a nightmare. So instead of helping you herself, she accidently led you to me. Because of that she decided to reach out to me. Funny how things work out huh?" I chuckle lightly.

"I guess so." Ruby says with a small smile. "So what did Mom want you to tell us?"

"She just wanted to tell you how much she still loves you and how proud she is of the both of you. She's always watching over you two, even if she can't be here now." I say relaying her message. "So don't let her death be the only thing you remember of her. Remember all of the good times you had together and that she loves you with all her heart." I finish.

"Just like you do?" Ruby asks smiling. I pause thinking about what she just asked.

"Yes. Just like I do." I answer.

"You should have told me. I don't care what other people think about it. They won't change how I feel about you." She says sincerely.

"I know. Ruby, do you really love me?" I ask.

"Yes." She answers without hesitation.

"Then it's time I did something I should have done long ago." I turn to look at Yang. "Summer gave her blessing. Now I must ask for yours. Yang Xiao Long, may I have permission to ask out your sister?"

She looks at me with an unreadable expression. Finally she closes her eyes and sighs. When she opens them, I could tell she just entered big sister mode.

"If it makes Ruby happy then I'm all for it. And I can't really argue with Summer. But I'm warning you right now. If you ever hurt her, or break her heart, I will personally make you wish that Death Stalker had killed you." She grins with a wicked smile. I nod weakly.

"Ruby Rose, would you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?"

She smiles and walks closer to me.

"I thought you would never ask."

She leans over and plants a kiss on my lips. I return the gesture, savoring the feeling of her soft lips against my own. That familiar shock shoots through my body. It's much more passionate then our first kiss at Christmas and even more meaningful. This is our first kiss as a couple.

We both hear a click and see Yang snapping a picture of us again.

"Yang." We both groan as she smiles widely at us.

_'__I'll have to remember to ask her for a copy of that picture later.'_ I think to myself smiling.

The door to the room opens and Weiss and Blake walk in with smirks on their faces.

"It's about time." Weiss smiles crossing her arms.

"You weren't supposed to tell her." I remind her.

"Hmph. You two were made for each other. You're both a couple of complete dolts." Weiss scoffs.

"Yeah, but she's my dolt now." I reply making Ruby giggle. "I guess I should thank you and Blake for being truthful when I couldn't."

"You're welcome." Weiss says warmly.

"Ace, the nurse would like to check on you if that wouldn't be too much trouble." Blake informs me.

"Alright let her in. I already told these two what I need to. Could you send in my team with her?" I request.

"Sure." She replies opening the door and signaling the nurse and my team to come in.

"We'll get out of the way so you can talk to them." Yang says.

Ruby frowns at this.

"Don't worry. I won't take too long." I tell her.

"Okay. I'll come back when you're ready. I'm sure everyone else would like to see you too. Oh! I'm going to go tell JNPR and Sun!" She exclaims excitedly.

"Geez Ruby. You only just became a couple and already you can't stand five minutes without him." Yang teases.

"Shut up Yang." Ruby pouts.

They walk outside the room letting my team and the nurse in.

"You are one lucky individual, you know that?" The nurse asks stepping up to my bedside. "Never in my time in the medical field have I thought I would see someone come back from Aura Lockdown." She states.

"I had help." I say looking at my team.

"Well everything seems to be normal now. You will probably have some pains for a while but they will go away in a week or so. In the meantime I'm prescribing you some pain killers. And no unnecessary strain until you fully recover." She orders handing me two small pills and some water, which I take quickly.

"Thank you." I say politely.

"Don't mention it. I'll come and check on you later." She says before leaving.

"You really had us worried there man. We were beginning to think you would never wake up." Matt says.

"Hey someone has to make sure you keep out of trouble." I grin.

"It's nice to have you back Ace." Matt says contently.

"It's nice to be back. It'd be even nicer if I wasn't confined to a bed for a week, but I'll take what I can get." I reply. "By the way, where's my gear?" I ask.

"It's back in the armory." Dez answers. "Goodwitch was able to repair it for you."

"Wow. I'll have to remember to thank her later. For now I'll settle on thanking you Zweii." I say looking at my partner.

"I don't deserve your thanks. You wouldn't be here if I hadn't…"

"Stop. I already know what you're going to say and I don't want to hear it." I say stopping him.

"But I…"

"Think you failed me as my partner? You're wrong. What happened wasn't anyone's fault. I'll explain it later but it couldn't have been helped. And you were just following my orders. So no, you didn't fail me. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here talking to you right now." I tell him.

"I almost gave up towards the end, but then I heard you speaking to me, trying to bring me back. You gave me the drive to keep going. You helped me home. You and Ruby saved my life."

"You heard us? I didn't know if that would even help." Zweii says.

"It did. Zweii, you were my first friend here at Beacon. I'm really glad we ended up partners."

"Why is that?" He asks.

"Because there is no one else I'd rather have backing me up and looking out for me. I know if you could have, you would have tried to prevent all of this, and that's good enough for me." I answer.

"Thank you. I'm glad to be your partner as well." He says cracking a smile.

"So how are those pain killers doing for you?" Dez asks.

I stretch my arm out to see, the medicine already working to dull the pain.

"Fantastic." I reply.

Suddenly Zweii's scroll goes off telling him someone was calling him.

"Hold on." He says pulling out the device to accept the call. "Hello? Oh Father. One second, I'm putting you on speaker." He says pushing a button.

I'm very interested to see what Zweii's father is like. Soon the man in question speaks.

"I just called to check on you and the rest of your friends. I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Zweii's father asks.

"No actually. You called at the perfect time. Ace just woke up a few minutes ago. Nurse says he'll be fine." Zweii replies.

"Really now!? That's excellent news son."

"He's actually sitting here listening to us with the rest of the team."

Taking that as my cue I greet my partner's father.

"Hello sir." I call as best I can.

"Was that Ace just now?" Zweii's father asks.

"Yes it was." Zweii answers.

"It's nice to hear you are doing well now Ace." He says.

"Thank you sir. It's all thanks to your son." I tell him.

"Oh? How is that?" He asks.

At this point Dez decides to cut in.

"Zweii was the one who came up with an idea to wake him up. It was his quick thinking that brought Ace back." Dez says, answering the question.

"Thanks Dez. It turns out that there _was_ something I could do father. Looks like you were wrong." Zweii says.

"I'm only human Zweii. I don't know everything. In any case, I'm glad you listened to your instincts. I'm very proud of you." His father says praising him. "Ace, whenever you get the chance, you should come visit us in Atlas. Your friends are welcome as well. I would very much like to meet you face to face."

"Thank you for the invitation. We'll be sure to try when we are able." I reply accepting his invitation.

"I look forward to it. Until then I wish you luck and a speedy recovery. Goodbye everyone."

"Goodbye." We all say as Zweii ends the call.

And not a moment too soon. Ruby as well as JNPR and Sun enter the room, a very excited Nora bouncing up and down as she moved.

"Yay! You're awake!" She cheers loudly.

"Nora…" Ren says simply, almost wordlessly conveying for her to calm down.

"Sorry." She quickly apologizes still wearing a smile.

"Hey guys." I greet them. "It's nice to see you all."

"And to you the same." Pyrrha replies. "When Ruby told us the good news we had to come see for ourselves."

"I told you he'd make it." Sun says walking towards Matt with his hands behind his head.

"So how long are you stuck here?" Jaune asks.

"A couple of weeks at most but I don't think it will take that long." I answer.

"That sucks!" Nora proclaims.

"That is rather unfortunate." Ren says much more calmly than his ginger haired friend.

"It won't be so bad." I reply.

"Yeah! Because I'm going to stay by his side." Ruby states giving me a quick hug, one that I can return now thanks to the medicine, confusing everyone but Nora.

"Oh. My. Dust! Does that mean… You two are 'together' together?" She asks excitedly.

"Yes Nora. We're 'together' together." I answer.

"I knew it! Aww, you two are so cute together!" She coos.

"Agreed. We're all very happy for you two." Pyrrha adds.

"Thanks."I say before yawning. The pain killers seem to be making me drowsy.

"Tired buddy?" Matt asks.

"Mhmm. I think it's time for a nap." I say tiredly.

"But you just woke up after, like, two days." He states.

"Give him a break Matt. He's been through enough without your crap." Dez scolds.

"Get some rest Ace. We'll bring you something to eat when you wake up again." Zweii says.

"Thanks guys." I sigh laying back into the bed.

Then they leave the room, leaving me to my awaited rest.

"Good night Ace." Ruby says softly.

"It's morning Ruby." I joke remembering Weiss saying the same think to me that day.

"You know what I meant." She says, never dropping her smile.

"Good night Ruby." I say closing my eyes.

_'__How did I get to be so lucky in life?'_ I wonder smiling, thinking about all that I had been given.

Great friends, loving parents, a second chance in life, and the sweetest girl in the world as my girlfriend.

With these thoughts, I drift to sleep.

* * *

Ruby shuts the door behind her as quietly as she can, leaving her, now boyfriend, to his rest.

"How is he?" Rebecca asks.

"He's sleeping. Guess the pain killers really knocked him out." Ruby answers.

"That's good." She sighs. "So, you two are dating now, is that correct?" Rebecca asks Ruby, ever observantly.

"Yep!" Ruby replies happily.

"That's wonderful. I'm sure you will make each other very happy."

"Of course she'll make him happy. She's my sister after all." Yang says proudly.

"I'm glad Ace found love in somebody like you." Damion tells Ruby. "It makes me very happy."

"Me too." Matthew says in agreement. "I can't believe my buddy Ace found a girlfriend."

"Yes it is nice to know that he finally found someone that cares for him as much as he cares for them." Rebecca smiles.

"I just wish I had figured it out sooner." Ruby says turning to face her partner. "Weiss, you should have told me!" She whines.

"_We_ weren't allowed." Weiss clarifies motioning to herself and Blake. "Besides it's not our fault that you're so oblivious to anything that's not a cookie or a weapon."

"That's just cold." Ruby mutters in a defeated tone.

"I guess you could say it was _Weiss_ cold." Yang states with another mind numbing pun.

"Way to ruin the moment again Yang." Blake sighs.

"I thought it was pretty funny." Rebecca admits.

"Don't encourage her." Weiss deadpans.

"You're just mad somebody appreciates a good pun." Yang beams.

"Everyone can appreciate them, you just can't deliver them." Weiss scoffs.

"Oooh that's a burn!" Nora giggles.

"Coming from Weiss, I'd say it was a _freezer burn_." Ruby says.

Everyone just stares at her for a moment before Rebecca breaks the silence, bursting into a fit of laughter. Soon, one by one, the rest join in.

After a while the laughter died down as everyone composed themselves.

"Good job sis. I taught you well." Yang says praising her sister.

"I don't think I've laughed so much in quite some time." Rebecca states.

"Well it's been nice to see you all but we should be heading back to the dorm room." Jaune says to everyone.

"Yeah! We must celebrate this day!" Nora proclaims. "Ren, pancakes for everyone." She orders.

"Pancakes sound great right now." Pyrrha states.

"Well it is breakfast time." Ren points out. "I'll break out my cooking supplies."

"See you all later. We'll check back with you guys later." Jaune says.

"See ya!" Matthew calls out to them before yawning. "Huh, maybe I should follow Ace's example and hit the sack." He grins.

"It has been a very stressful time lately. You hardly slept these past few days." Dezaryl points out.

"Yeah, but now I can rest easier knowing Ace is okay." Matt says, turning to his friend's parents. "Guess I'll see you later as well."

Damion nods. "I think some rest would do everyone some good. I'm sure Ace will be up after words as well."

"Good night everyone." Rebecca says leaving with her husband.

"After all of this, we deserve a rest." Yang says. "Night boys." She says to AZRE.

"Night girls." Matthew says eager to get to his bed.

When they returned to their room, they decide to follow Ace's example and rest.

* * *

Ruby wakes up some time later in the afternoon looking around the room at her still sleeping teammates. While she was happy to let them rest, she was very eager to return to Ace's room.

Quietly she gets down from her makeshift bunk bed, careful not to wake Weiss, directly below her, or the others on the other side of the room. With none of them disturbed by her movement, she leaves the room.

Luckily she was already dressed in her combat skirt and cloths, due to the fact that everyone decided to just sleep in what they were wearing.

As she walked through the hallways she couldn't help but smile. Things were finally returning to how they were, before all of this madness and heartache. No, better than they were. She and Ace had gone from the best of friends to something so much more, and the thought was beginning to excite her.

She never paid much attention to boys before. This was mostly due to her young age and social awkwardness. That and the fact that she would rather spend time working on her weapon than anything else. No wonder it took her this long to figure out that Ace had a crush on her. But everything was crystal clear now.

Why he would sometimes blush by her contact, why he liked spending time with her, why he was always so protective of her, and last but not least, why everyone automatically assumed that they were an item.

_'__We need to go rub this in Jorge's grandmother's face. She only teased us enough.'_ Ruby thinks to herself. _'Oh! We should probably tell Penny too, if we ever find her. And hopefully soon Dad and Uncle Qrow.'_

But these were things for another day. Now all she wanted was to see Ace.

Up ahead she could see Ace's parents walking from the opposite end of the hall.

"Hello Ruby." Damion calls. "You sleep well?"

"Yep. I was just on my way to Ace's room." She answers.

"So were we. I do hope he's awake by now. That boy could sleep the day away if given the opportunity." Rebecca states.

"Well let's make sure he doesn't." Damion says.

The trio makes their way to the medical room, talking all the way. Upon arrival at Ace's room, Ruby knocks on the door to make sure he was not still resting.

"Come in." Came a reply from the other side of the door.

Ruby opens the door and walks in excitedly.

"Yay, You're up!" She chirps happily "We came to come check on you and…" She pauses when she sees the person occupying the room.

There was no Grimm helmet on the boy's head. Instead there was jet-black hair, wild and spiked, that was long enough to reach halfway down his neckline.

His eyes were a bold sapphire blue, only slightly darker than Jaune's but lighter than Zweii's.

Ruby blushes furiously at her apparent mistake.

"Eep! Sorry I must have got the wrong room!" She says before speeding out of the room and closing the door.

"Ruby, why did you run out of the room?" Rebecca asks.

"I think we're at the wrong room." Ruby explains.

Damion looks at the room number with a confused expression.

"No this is the right room." He announces opening the door and looking for himself. He grins and turns his head toward Ruby. "Yeah that's Ace alright."

"The one and only." Came the boy's response.

"Ace?" Ruby asks.

"Yes Ruby, it's me." He replies. Ruby walks back in the room.

"Wow, I didn't recognize you without your armor on." Ruby states walking over to her boyfriend. "You never take it off. It's weird seeing you without it."

"Would you rather I put it back on?" Ace asks, trying his best to look hurt.

"NO! No, no, no! That's not what I meant. I mean I like the helmet, but I definitely like seeing you like this. Not hurt and in a hospital I mean. Without your helmet. I would never like seeing you in a hospital bed cause that means you're hurt and I don't like that and I'm rambling again aren't I?" She says in embarrassment.

"Only a little." Ace grins. "I understand. I don't take it off very often."

"Well, maybe you should." Ruby smiles. "I think you look great without it hiding your face all the time."

"Y-You do?" Ace asks, a bit taken aback.

"Uh-huh." Ruby answers sweetly.

"Maybe I will. For you." Ace replies.

"Your hair is longer than it was when I last saw you." Rebecca comments.

"Yeah, I was trying to grow it out a little."

"I think it looks good." Ruby compliments.

"Me too." Rebecca says in agreement.

"So… How long are you staying here?" Ace asks his parents in an almost depressed tone.

"What kind of question is that?" Damion huffs. "We're staying for as long as it takes for you to recover." He answers.

"But what about the forge?"

"We closed it until further notice. Making sure our son is okay takes much higher priority than our work."

"We know we missed out on a lot of things with you because of how busy we are. Just know that we love you more than you can imagine, even if we can't always be there to show it." Rebecca tells her child.

"I know. I love you too."

"Hey! What about me?" Ruby says crossing her arms in a mock pout.

"And you Ruby." Ace adds.

"As do we." Rebecca states. "Who knows? Maybe one day I'll have the privilege to call you my daughter in law." She grins slyly, causing Ruby to stutter incoherently.

"Rebecca, I think you broke the poor girl." Damion grins.

"Spend the rest of my life with the most loving and beautiful girl in Remnant? I wouldn't be opposed to that someday." Ace says, causing Ruby to blush. "But that's something for later. Right now, I'm just happy to call her my girlfriend." He says earning a small giggle and kiss on the cheek from Ruby.

"Alright you two, get a room." Damion says playfully.

"Technically this is my room for the next week or so." Ace says, deciding to play his father's game.

"Well Dust. I guess you got me there." Damion responds in defeat.

"Hello everyone." Comes Amber's voice as she walks into the room. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Not at all." Damion responds.

"Good. Ace how are the meds treating you?" She asks.

"They definitely take away the aches that's for sure." Ace answers.

"Any negative effects?"

"Not really. They just make me tired."

"That's a normal side effect." She says scribbling on her note sheet. "Okay if you wouldn't mind, I'd like for you to do a few tests for me."

"Alright."

"Can you use your Semblance and cloak your right hand? I want to make sure your abilities haven't been impaired in any way" She asks.

"Sure I think I can do that." Ace says focusing his ability on his hand. Without any trouble the hand disappears completely for a few seconds.

"Good. Now can you try standing for me?"

With a nod, Ace removes the bed covers and turns sitting on the edge of the bed. The nurse notices a lack of the standard medical garb. Various bandages were wrapped around Ace's body, covering the areas of injury. Other than that the only thing covering his body was a pair of pants.

"Why do you refuse to wear the medical shirt loaned to you?" Amber asks shaking her head.

"Sorry. It's really uncomfortable." Ace replies.

"Well as long as it doesn't interfere with your recovery I don't see why you should be forced to wear it." She relents.

Ace slowly lowers himself to the floor, testing the strength in his unused muscles. Although it had only been a couple of days, those few days had left his muscles weakened. The damage that was done to his body didn't help in the least.

Despite this he tries standing up, only to be hit with a wave of dizziness. After a few shaky seconds he's standing upright with no assistance. Proud of this but not willing to push his luck, he sits back down.

"Excellent. Your muscles have only slightly atrophied but a few days of physical therapy should get you back to one hundred percent. We can probably start as soon as tomorrow if this keeps up." Amber informs.

"Anything to get out of this bed." Ace says with relief. His parents look at him with shock. "Yes, I realized how ironic that sounded as soon as I said it."

"Alright. Everything checks out. Just buzz me if you need anything." Amber says before leaving.

"Sounds like you're making a pretty quick recovery." Damion smiles.

"I knew it wouldn't take two weeks." Ace states.

Not wanting to be left out of the conversation, Ace's stomach growls putting in its opinion.

"Guess you're hungry." Ruby notes.

"I could use some food." Ace admits.

"Then it looks like we got here just in time." Zweii says walking in with Matthew and Dezaryl, the latter carrying a plate of food, the smell wafting over to Ace.

"Is that spaghetti?" Ace asks.

"Sure is. Served fresh from the cafeteria." Dezaryl says, placing the tray in front of Ace.

Spaghetti and meatballs covered the plate, with some bread and an apple accompanying it.

"Thanks Dez." Ace says quickly picking up the provided fork and digging in.

"Tch. And you say I have no manners." Matthew remarks entering the room.

Ace stops, making a loud gulping sound as he promptly swallowed his food. He scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Heh, sorry. Haven't eaten in like two days." He smiles sheepishly.

"I'm just teasing you man." Matthew grins.

"As always."

"Hey, I've got some catching up to do too."

Ace shakes his head and smiles.

"Why am I friends with you again?" Ace sighs.

"Because I'm awesome." Matthew replies smugly.

"Yeah, yeah I've heard that one before."

"Well it's true." Matthew defends.

"I never said it wasn't."

Matthew gasps in fake shock.

"Everyone heard it! Ace admitted it!" The hammer wielder shouts.

"I'll deny it to everyone who asks."

"Zweii, you'll back me up right?" He asks the knight.

"I'm not getting involved in this." The knight sighs.

Matthew turns to his partner in hopes that he would support him.

"Don't look at me." The archer says defensively.

"Thanks a lot guys." Matthew pouts in defeat.

Everyone laughs at this, eventually provoking Matthew to join as well.

Ruby smiles looking around.

_'__Yep. Totally better.'_

* * *

The next few days went by with surprising speed. Ace spent most of his time talking with his parents about all of the adventures he and his friends had during their time at Beacon. Initiation, the Halloween party, the day with Ruby in the city, finding Blake, and even the tine at Junior's club with Yang, thought the details about their beverage choices weren't disclosed.

His parents listened with great interest in their exploits as they enjoyed their long overdue time with their son.

When he wasn't lying in bed recalling these adventures, or drugged into a slumber by his meds, he was walking around the courtyard. A part if his physical therapy, Amber wanted him to take it slow at first and take short walks twice a day.

The first day was the hardest for him, as he stumbled a few times after extended activity. Fortunately he had Zweii and Ruby around making sure to help him keep going.

By the third day he was able to walk around without fear of collapsing, but still kept Zweii and Ruby with him. By the fourth he was able to maintain a steady jog with little trouble, even adding more armor to readjust to it.

Finally a week had gone by and unbeknownst to his friends, Ace was released from the medical ward. In his full gear, he returned to his room for the first time in a long while.

"Ace! You're here." Matthew observes as his friend walks in. "Did you get out already?" He asks.

"Just got discharged this morning." Ace replies.

"That's good. Can't imagine being confined to that room was much fun."

Ace nods. "Any longer and I might have gone crazy. So boring when no one's around."

"You had weird dreams involving Ruby's deceased mother, have a pet Grimm, and you're friends with Matt. You passed crazy a long time ago." Dezaryl mocks. Ace shoots him a playful glare. "Just saying."

"Whatever."

"So now that you're free, what do you plan on doing?" Zweii asks, leading his leader to think on this for a minute.

"I think I'll just hang out here with my team." He answers.

"You mean your friends." Zweii corrects.

"The best." Ace grins.

"So I'm curious. What did you talk about with Ruby's mother?" Zweii asks.

"Lots of things." Ace answers. " Last thing she told me was a warning. Something is coming. Something that's even more dangerous than the Grimm and it's going to hit the Kingdom hard. She said we need to be ready for anything and to keep our friends and allies close."

"Sounds sinister whatever it is." Dezaryl comments.

"And exciting!" Matthew adds.

"Whatever it is, we will beat it together. All of us." Zweii states. "We'll train even harder than before, and we will win!" He declares in true knight fashion.

"Yes! We'll make whatever it is regret the day they decided to mess with us and our home!" Matthew exclaims clenching his fists.

"Sounds like a plan. I wouldn't have it any other way." Ace says in agreement. "It will probably be very dangerous, but I know everything will turn out for the best."

"Yeah but for now, we should try not to worry about it so much. No use getting worked up about it now when we don't even know what we're up against. We've already had enough drama for this semester." Dezaryl reasons.

"I think you're right Dez." Zweii says in agreement. "We have better things to occupy our attention on. Like our leader's good health and new relationship." He grins, to which Ace merely rolls his eyes within his helmet.

Ace's parents enter the room, carrying the bags they had brought with them.

"Hey kids. Thought we'd drop by before we had to head out." Damion informs.

"So soon?" Ace frowns.

"Don't worry Ace. We're just a call away when you want to talk to us." His mother states.

"Right. Just don't overwork yourselves okay?" Ace says hugging his parents.

"We won't. Damion and I are making a few changes around the forge. We will have a little more time away from work from now on." Rebecca explains.

"That's great to hear." Ace grins.

"Our flight will be leaving soon." Rebecca says picking her luggage back up. "We should get going. Stay safe out here. That goes for all of you."

"Take care of each other. See you later." Damion says bidding everyone farewell.

"We will. Have a safe trip." Matthew replies.

"Bye." Ace says simply as he watches them leave for the airship.

"Hey guys check this out!" Dezaryl shouts drawing attention to his scroll. "Nora just sent me a text. Apparently Yang and Coco are getting into a fight with Team CRDL."

"Coco!? The second year leader? Oh I've got to see this!" Matthew shouts excitedly.

"Agreed." Zweii nods.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go already!" Matthew shouts again taking off out of the room, Zweii and Dezaryl following behind.

Zweii stops at the door looking back at his unmoving friend.

"Hey Ace, you coming?" He asks.

"Yeah. Just give me a minute." Ace replies.

"Alright." Zweii says before running after the rest of the team.

_'__Whatever we face, we face together.'_ Ace thinks to himself. _'Good thing we have each other. This is going to be challenging for sure. But things always seem to work out in the end right? No matter what, we will remain united. I'll make sure of that.'_

With that thought in mind, Ace departs to catch up with his team, his friends, and most important his loved ones.

The clouds of uncertainty were slowly rolling in, but with everyone's help, Ace was certain that there would be azure skies ahead.

* * *

**A/N: And that I hope is a very successful end to a successful season. I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did because this was a blast to do for not only myself but for all of you.**

**I'd like to take this opportunity to make a few shout outs to some very important people.**

**I first want to thank Monty and everyone at Rooster Teeth for giving us such a wonderful and captivating show such as RWBY. Not only for that but for all the time and energy they put in to entertaining all of us. Seriously these guys should be proud to have the coolest jobs in the world. I can only wish that I too could work with such amazing people, doing the things I love most. So if they ever see this, I hope they know just how much they mean to me and the rest of the RT community.**

**I want to thank my closest friend, ZDragonLord, for helping me with working out my ideas and picking up on my mistakes. If you enjoy my work then you should definitely check out his Dark Souls Fan Fiction, Ancestral Ties. If you've been following The Draigg and his work, like you should, he makes a repeating appearance in the story. ZDragonLord is also working on more stories so if you get the chance go look him up.**

**I want to give a shout out to TheDarkenedRose and Jorge10466. You guys are awesome at what you do. Seriously, If you like White Rose and by the dismal chance you haven't heard of these guys, go check them out. You won't be disappointed. My OC Ace even makes a breif apperance in Jorge's, A Beacon of Hope in a Castle of Ice.**

**I want to thank my fan and friend Kaimi Kreissel for your constant input on my story. If you like OCs you should definitely hit him up. Again Ace and the gang make a cameo in his story and if you like mine you will enjoy his creations. Also check out by bud Creeper245. He's also working on a story, and once he sorts it out I'm sure it will be worth a read.**

**Finally I want to thank every last one of you out there reading this right now. You guys make this story so meaningful to me. I love every last one of you guys and thank you for sticking with me this far. So to all of you, thanks a million.**

**So what's next? Well mindless shenanigans if I remember correctly. I'll be putting out the first of many misadventures next Saturday. After an extensive warning label of course. So look forward to that.**

**Have a happy 4th of July and I'll see you all later**


	27. Chapter 25

**Kicking Off into the New Semester: The Second Journey Begins**

* * *

With the new semester quickly approaching for the students of Beacon, the little free time they had left was drawing to an end. Soon they would begin their daily routine of early morning classes and late nights filled with assignments. So for one Ruby Rose, these last moments of freedom were ones she wished to spend with her friends.

As Blake starred into her personal journal, she was lost in thought about her previous life with the White Fang, and with her ex-partner, Adam. It was hard to believe that she was able to escape that life and find such caring and supportive friends. Even in the eyes of one Weiss Schnee she was treated as an equal, as a friend. And while things were looking up now, she couldn't help but be constantly reminded of her past.

Even now the White Fang was growing bolder and stronger in their efforts to gain the upper hand on humanity. They had even formed an alliance with Vale's most wanted, Roman Torchwick. Something was coming, something bigger than either Torchwick or the White Fang, and Blake knew it couldn't be good.

So while her new found family, consisting of her friends of Team RWBY, JNPR, and AZRE, were doing much of the same routine of goofing off and enjoying their time here at Beacon, she was left distracted and worried of the events yet to come.

AZRE was seated next to RWBY as they had come to do since starting their time here at school. Matthew and his partner Dezaryl were having an energetic conversation over the upcoming tournament that would be taking place in the near future. Both were ready to showcase their skills in front of the large audience of people that would be in attendance to the festival.

Zweii smiled as he listened in on the conversation, polishing his blade with great care all the while. And as for his partner and the leader of AZRE himself, Ace Wolfblade was doing what he did best. Sleeping.

It was just another normal day, and after all that the combined groups had gone through the previous semester, the drama less and laid back day was greatly appreciated.

Yang, who had been watching her partner stare at the same page ever since she took her seat in the cafeteria, broke Blake's concentration on the page as she slid over to peek at what had captured her attention for so long.

"Whatcha doing?" The blonde asked curiously.

"Nothing, just going over notes from last semester." Blake answered as she closed her journal.

"Lame." Yang says before catching a grape catapulted from Nora, in her mouth, giving her ginger haired friend one table across from her a thumbs up.

Suddenly Ruby appeared at the end of the table, slamming a huge binder down, startling everybody, including Ace who promptly woke up with a groan. His annoyance was overridden at the sight of his girlfriend smiling widely as she addressed the table.

"Sisters… Friends… Boyfriends," She said looking at Ace, who shook his head with a smile, "Weiss." She finished earning an offended "Hey" from her partner. "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."

"So did I. You were there." Ace responded groggily.

"Dude shut up. I wanna see where this goes." Matthew said before returning his attention to the young reaper.

"A dream that one day, the twelve of us would come together, as a greater team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had… Ever!" She exclaimed as she continued her little speech.

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked as she eyed the sloppy and hasty revision to what was most definitely her Vytal festival activity journal, now titled "Best Day Ever Activities".

"I am not a crook." Ruby said smiling as she made a double peace sign.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked skeptically.

"I'm talking about kicking the new semester off with a bang!" Ruby answers excitedly.

"That sounds like great idea." Zweii remarked as he finished up his weapon cleaning.

"I always kick my semester off with a _Yang_! Eh? Guys? Am I right?" She asked looking for appreciation in what she thought was a clever use of her name.

Instead Nora throws an apple into her face before booing the dreadful pun. Yang glares at the bubbly hammer wielder with great disdain.

"Look guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us to do today." Ruby explained.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store." Weiss sighed.

Yang seeking fiery vengeance on Nora, returned fire, throwing the apple back across the gap earning a "Hey" from Jaune and a laugh from Nora at her leaders expense.

"So that's why you had me snatch Weiss' binder for you." Ace said earning an icy glare form Weiss.

"You took my binder without asking?! Of all the nerve!" Weiss said venting her annoyance.

"Well, what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn't help my girl out when she asks?" Ace remarked.

"A sensible, responsible one!" Weiss answered.

"Well you know what they say Weiss, all work and no play and all that." Ace responded. "Besides, I like to think I'm very responsible. I have to look after Matt after all."

"You know you love me." Matthew grinned.

"As a purely platonic, best friend kind of love, yes but I still have to wonder why sometimes." Ace replied, grinning back at his goofy companion.

"I don't know. I might sit this one out." Blake stated.

"Sit out or not, I think however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team!" Weiss said in response to her Faunus teammate.

While their relationship was still not perfect, it was a vast improvement on the way things had originally started. Weiss was more attune to how Blake felt on certain subjects and instead of destroying her views, she tried to learn them.

"I for one think that…" Weiss continued but was interrupted as someone flung a pie straight into the heiress' face. The culprit, Nora.

Clearly caught in the act Nora quickly sits down and points to Ren who can only face palm at his friends antics. Pyrrha and Jaune were in a similar position.

Nothing good could come of what had just been initiated.

* * *

Outside, a young monkey Faunus by the name of Sun was walking with his blue haired teammate Neptune. As they walked Sun filled his since absent friend in on the details of his exploits during his stay in Vale.

"Man, that's harsh." Neptune commented as Sun detailed his and Blake's fight at the docks against Torchwick and his White Fang operatives.

"I know, we were fighting side by side. She was super-fast and I threw a banana at the guy, which sounds gross, but it was awesome!" Sun stated.

"Nice!"

"Right? And the best part is, she's a Faunus. But that's a secret, okay?" Sun hastily added. Blake had been very adamant about keeping her Faunus heritage a secret.

"Got it." Neptune replied with a grin.

"And then when I was hanging around the courtyard, I saw this guy in Grimm armor walking around by himself."

"White Fang?" Neptune asked.

"That's what I thought too, so I went and fought him."

"And how did that turn out?"

"He grabbed me by the tail and punched me a bit before Blake showed up." Sun answered in a slightly defeated tone.

"So then what happened?"

"Turns out, the guy I was fighting was just a student here. His name is Ace. Real nice guy. A little hard to talk to at first but he's great when you know him better. He leads his own team here. Oh and he's…" Sun stopped and looked around before continuing. "A Half Breed. Like half Faunus, half Human. But that's also a secret. Anyway, he makes his armor from actual Grimm bodies, which is kinda weird but also pretty cool, and he has a Beowolf as a pet! But you can't tell anyone. You can't tell anyone about Blake, Ace, or Ace's pet. It's all secret."

"Got it." Neptune replied again with the same smile.

"And not a "I'm going to tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back secret," I'm talking _secret_ secret." Sun said emphasizing the weight of these secrets.

"Whoa, chill out man, okay? I got it. _I got it!_" Neptune whispers.

"You better." Sun states as they passed the many cafeteria windows, ignoring the chaos that was raging on inside. "I just don't want to screw this up you know? The people here are the coolest! No offense to you guys."

"None taken."

"They're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?" Sun asked worriedly.

"Dude." Neptune states simply, stopping in front of his friend and posing.

"Good point." Sun concedes as they entered the cafeteria which was looking more like a war zone at this point.

"Food fight!" Matthew hollers as the other students ran to escape the battlefield unscathed.

While Neptune looked on in pure terror, Sun looked around rather excitedly; almost giddy at what lay before them.

Both Team RWBY and AZRE stared up at the massive fort of tables JNPR had constructed in such a short time and were now standing proudly on top of, Nora of course at the highest point.

"Ahahahaha!" Nora laughed heartily with her hands on her hips. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" She sing songs with delight.

Ruby would not take this sitting down. Nora had declared war upon them. And war there would be.

Stomping her foot down, Ruby points at the mad queen in defiance.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" Ruby stated crushing her milk carton. "It will be delicious!" She yelled.

With her command to battle, the rest of her team as well as AZRE raised their fists, screaming "Yeah!" in unison.

"Off with their heads!" Nora commanded quite menacingly as she leapt from her perch to the ammo stock of watermelon below.

All at once JNPR sprinted for the massive fruits and flung them at the forces that dared defy them.

"What should we do commander Wolfblade?" Matthew asks with a wide grin.

"They have declared war upon Ruby and in doing so have declared war on me as well." Ace answered. "Let's make it rain sweet, tasty pain upon them!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Matthew exclaimed as he and Dezaryl flipped a few remaining tables over to form a makeshift barricade.

"For the glory of the AZRE Alliance I shall smite thee!" Zweii roared throwing watermelons to intercept the few coming their way. The fruits collide smashing into a red mist of juice.

"Yang! Turkeys!" Ruby ordered to her sister.

Yang quickly taking the hint slid two turkeys onto her fists like boxing gloves and punched the watermelons that flew towards her.

Despite her previous claim at wanting to just sit out, Blake charged into the fight using two baguettes as her weapon, slicing melons out of the air in quick procession. Yang backing up her partner smashed a couple more before flinging her turkey gauntlets at Pyrrha and Jaune.

Pyrrha evades leaving Jaune to take the brunt of both turkeys, incapacitating him. Blake however uses this opportunity to catch the Spartan girl off guard. Or so she thought. Despite Blake's sneak attack, it fell short and Pyrrha grabbed some bread of her own to defend herself with.

The two girls were locked in combat, neither side backing down. For all her agility Blake couldn't land a hit and was forced to back off a bit, but not before hurling one of her "swords" at her adversary.

As Blake lands Pyrrha not only evades the bread, but sprints forward, striking Blake in a lancing fashion and sending the Faunus girl flying. Not quite through she aims her weapon much like her own spear and hurls it at Blake only for Yang to intercept and smash it.

"Open fire!" Ace commanded as he and his team launched a volley of soda cans at Nora.

The cans exploded against the floor but fell short in reaching their intended target.

"Hahaha! You missed me! You missed me!" Nora sung.

"We need more powerful ammunition." Dezaryl stated ducking before a watermelon could hit his face.

Zweii looked around at the resources before him and formulated an idea.

"Grab that trashcan Matt!" Zweii ordered.

"On it!" Matthew replied rolling out from cover and running to the requested item, dodging food all the way.

"Dez, pull that table over here!"

"You want it? You got it!" Dezaryl said focusing on the table slightly behind them and slowly lifting it with his mental semblance.

Ace quickly understood what Zweii wanted and grinned.

"I'm so glad you're on our side Zweii." He tells his partner.

Matthew reaching his goal grabbed an empty trashcan and lobbed it back to AZRE's base. With his task complete he made his way back to the barricade, grabbing some more ammo on the way.

Ace grabbed the trash can and laid it on its side while Dezaryl placed the table on it. Zweii admired their quick handiwork catapult as Matthew loaded up melons, turkeys, and soda to be flung.

"Hey Nora!" Ace shouted catching the girl's attention. "Catch."

"Fire!" Zweii commanded as Matthew jumped on the high end of the catapult, fling the various food projectiles her way.

"Nooo!" Nora cries dramatically as soda and turkey exploded around her violently, the melons fling into the fort and toppling it all to the ground. "My castle! You'll pay for that Ace! All of you will pay!" She screams.

With great fury, Nora throws any watermelon she can, bombarding the small base. A few pass over and take out the catapult that toppled her empire.

Ruby, grabbing a lunch tray proceeds to table surf through the carnage, deflecting another bread missile and making an expert jump off the table and onto Pyrrha staggering her and knocking her to the floor.

Ren and Nora retaliate charging the young leader, who had a secret weapon hidden in wait behind her. Ruby flips backwards revealing Weiss, armed with a ketchup bottle. Weiss slams the bottle down creating a red oil slick and tripping Ren in the process.

Ren unfortunately slid and crashed into AZRE's base, bringing down their barricade.

"Well that sucks." Matthew pouts as he and his team lies amongst the rumble as they were now without a hiding place.

Nora, not falling for Weiss' tricks, leapt into the air, grabbing a metal pole and sticking it into a watermelon making a hammer. Nora was now armed and very dangerous. She swung for Weiss but Ruby shielded her partner and took the blow instead.

Weiss evaded an armed herself with a swordfish to take on Nora's might melon hammer. With a powerful charging thrust Weiss sent Nora backwards. Nora quickly leapt back into action blocking Weiss' strikes before expertly slamming her weapon into the heiress' and sending her into a pillar, breaking it.

Ruby quickly came to her partner's aid catching her and moving her out of the way of the collapsing architecture. Weiss lay limp in her arms defeated.

"Weiss. Weiss! Don't leave me!" Ruby cries. "NOOOOO!" She shouts dramatically as Yang leaps over her and into action. She had once again armed herself with turkey and made a bee line straight for Ren.

Ren, grabbing a pair of leeks, charges forward to meet her. At first he blocks her initial strikes but Yang quickly turns the tide and begins landing punches on him sending him airborne. With his new vantage point he throws the leeks in an attempt to hit the blonde brawler. Yang dodges with a powerful leap and reaches Ren's altitude. The stoic boy takes a powerful downward strike sending him crashing into the tables below.

Nora comes in with a vengeance swinging her lethal hammer that had already incapacitated Weiss earlier at Yang. Yang evades and comes back with a punch aimed for Nora's head, but is a few seconds too late as Nora slams her upwards and literally through the roof.

Blake leaps backwards avoiding the falling debris and arming herself with a chain of sausage and whipping Nora clean into a soda machine. Nora grabs a few cans and throws them at Blake making her dodge to avoid being hit.

AZRE, refusing to stay down begin to pelt the other side with more soda. Pyrrha counters by using her semblance to magnetizing the cans around her, whether they are in the air or on the ground, and sending them forward like in a huge wave towards Blake and AZRE. Just to make sure her attack hits with the intended force she draws all the cans available from the machines to add on to the assault.

With so many cans flying forward at once it was impossible to dodge the bombardment. The drinks meet their marks and exploded, staining their uniforms, or in Ace's case his armor, and sending them across the room.

"Ugh, we have fallen." Ace groans before going still with Blake and the rest of his team. Ace could only watch from the sidelines as Ruby was left to deal with all of JNPR's might.

Ruby looked to her fallen comrades. Her friends, her team, her love. All fallen. This would not stand.

With an explosive sprint she sent the various objects around her backwards, before they were pulled back forward by the vacuum she had created with her speed. The closer she got to JNPR, the more debris she was pulling with her until it became an unstoppable mass.

Ruby spun like a little red torpedo, her cape becoming the only thing on her visible as the rose petals she created formed a trail behind her. She quickly passed JNPR and stopped before the wall with enough force to crack the wall.

The cloud of miscellaneous objects caught up to JNPR and pelted them against the broken wall, staining them and the wall behind them in a rainbow of colors. When the barrage ended the now colorful Team JNPR slowly fell off the wall in a defeated mess.

Ace who had been watching the entire time was marveling at how strong Ruby was to take them down just by running past them. He was so glad that she was his.

"Wow… That was awesome." Ace stated as he and the others picked themselves up.

Sun and Neptune who had been observing the whole fight had opposing emotions as to what just happened. On one hand Sun was clearly pleased. Neptune who was covered in what someone could only guess was purple soda, did not share his enthusiasm.

"I love these guys." Sun told his blue haired friend.

The doors behind them erupted open as an irate Professor Goodwitch stormed in to survey the damage. Angrily she used her abilities to repair all damage and reorganize the room in a matter of seconds. Tables and chairs fell into line and the scattered food and silverware were fixed and placed. The damage to the walls and structures were erased and the splattered colors that covered the room vanished. To anyone who would have walked in they would never have known there had been a food fight for the centuries within it not but a few moments ago.

"Children, please do not play with your food." Glynda said adjusting her glasses, in a tone you would use with younger children, not huntsmen in training.

Nora responded with an impressive belch just before Yang came crashing back through the roof, leaving another hole to repair. The gang complete they all began laughing joyfully at what could only be called the most epic use of a lunch period ever.

Glynda growled in frustration, fully ready to discipline them all before a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

"Let it go." Ozpin said calmly.

"They're supposed to be the defenders of the world." Glynda sighed as she watched the still laughing group of friends.

"And they will be. But right now they're still children. So why not let them play the part?" Ozpin asks turning to leave. "After all… It isn't a role they will have forever."

Glynda watches the headmaster leave before returning her watch to the children.

Ace and Ruby were close, embracing the other in small but meaning full side hugs. It was a pleasant sight to be sure. But Ozpin was right. How long would they have until their innocence was shattered?

* * *

**A/N: Hello RWBY fans! Guess who's back? Yeah, yeah I pulled a disappearing****act again but I think you can forgive me since the next season is finally being written and released. So I have a few announcements****so please bare with me a bit longer.**

**First off, I'm going to try getting more chapters out in a more manageable time. I have a huge amount of time at college I now use to write without being distracted at home and I intend to use it to get this story going. I really want to get to the end of this season because I have huge plans I'm really excited about and I want to get to. Some will be a bit weird****but I assure you I have thought****long and hard about them and I won't do anything that just seems unreasonable. I consider your opinions before my own first.**

**Second, you maybe wondering what the fate of the misadventures will be. I'm still going to do them, I promise. I have so much I want to do for the actual story and the misadventures and I intend on doing them. So fear not I will be working on both but focusing on the actual plot more right now. I do have another Halloween Special coming and it will be in the misadventures for obvious reasons.**

**Third and finally, I have had the pleasure ****of making a very good friend here on the site. You may know him as DeadAirXIII, author of Dark Skies and Stormclouds. He's very talented for his first time writing and I would appreciate it if you would show him some support. If you enjoy OC's he's got you covered. While we are on the topic of my dear friend, I would like to announce that not now, but when I get to the end of this season of Team: Azure, I will be releasing two more stories that him and I have been working on. Now here's the deal. AZRE and his OC's will make their return in both stories. So if you want to read them, you better check out my buddy's story so you get a feel for his characters. They will be two modern AUs with different focuses. The best part is that we work on these together so there won't be too much delay on their updates. Now why am I holding off on releasing them? Well, they contain 2 characters of my own design that will be making a shocking reveal at the end of season 2 and I dont want to spoil the surprise. That is another reason I want to get through the season as quick as I can, but I won't destroy the quality to get it out too fast.**

**So that wraps this note up and I hope I've given you plenty to be excited for. I'll see you lovely people as soon as I can. ;)**


	28. Chapter 26

**Welcoming New Faces: The Beginnings of New Friendships**

* * *

After cleaning themselves off from the monumental food fight, RWBY, AZRE, and JNPR decided to continue their fun in a much quitter fashion in the library. Ruby had suggested to her team that they play Remnant: The Game, a tactical game depicting the various kingdoms and their armies, locked in a continuous power struggle for control of the world itself.

JNPR opted to read and relax after the hard fought battle while their friends matched wits in the board game. AZRE was more the happy to join them in relaxing but while they talked quietly amongst themselves, Ace was also watching Ruby prepare for her next move.

"So apparently the Headmaster in Atlas is visiting with his students for the tournament." Matthew says making conversation with his team.

"General Ironwood." Zweii says in recognition. "He not only heads the academy but he's a top ranking military figure as well."

"Sounds like he has quite the obligations. How would he find the time to visit just for the festival?" Dezaryl asks.

"Who knows? What I do know is that he brought a small army with him. Dude comes prepared for the worst." Matthew states.

"He's rather well known for being a bit of a show off back in Atlas. He helps with creating new top off the line androids for military use in the field." Zweii adds.

"Well I can see where using machines might give the advantage in combat. You end up risking way less lives that way." Dezaryl states.

"True, but there are just some things machines can't do that we as humans can." Matthew argues.

"Hmmmmm... All right... All right!" Ruby says pointing at her sister. "Yang Xiao Long, prepare your kingdom for battle!" The younger sibling commanded with great passion.

"Bring it on!" Yang challenges, balling her fist in anticipation.

"I deploy the Atlesian Air Fleet!" Ruby declares, forcefully placing one of her playing cards onto the table. "Looks like I get to fly right over your Ursai and attack your walls directly!" Ruby states making noises of a military bombing run.

It didn't make much sense seeing as she was attacking with a giant raven rather than a jet but no one seemed to mind. Plus Ace just found it endearing.

"You fiend!" Yang shouts feigning her hurt and betrayal.

"Nice move Ruby." Ace says commending his girlfriend's tactic.

"Thanks." Ruby giggles before returning her attention to the game and lowering herself so that the field was eye level with her. "And since Atlas is part of Mantle, my repair time is only one turn."

Now faced with any other opponent, Ruby would probably have had them running scared. But this was no normal foe. This was Yang Xiao Long. Laughing arrogantly, the blonde surprises Ruby, causing her to peak her head back up in confusion.

"Pretty sneaky, sis, but you just activated my trap card!" Yang declares revealing her card for all to see and damaging Ruby's confidence. "Giant Nevermore!" She says slamming the card on the table. "If I roll a seven or higher, fatal feathers will slice your fleet in two!"

"But, if you roll a six or lower, the Nevermore will turn on your own forces!" Ruby states, her confidence returning with the announcement of the creatures flaw.

"That's right. The Grimm while being usable forcers are unpredictable and therefore have the chance to backfire completely." Dezaryl says.

"That's just a chance I'm willing to take." Yang states boldly, grabbing her dice to roll.

"If Ace was in charge of them, I bet he wouldn't have to take such a risk." Matthew grins.

"While Shadow is loyal Matt the same cannot be necessarily said for others. But thanks for the compliment." Ace says to his friend with a smile.

"Any time man." Matthew replies before Yang cheers triumphantly as she gets the necessary roll.

"Nooooo! My fearless soldiers!" Ruby cries as her forces were effectively halved by the Nevermore's Fatal Feathers.

"Eh, most of them were probably androids." Yang says uncaringly.

"Better luck next time Ruby." Ace says sympathetically.

"Goodbye my friends, you will be avenged." Ruby says sadly.

"Not until I draw my rewards! Which are double this round thanks to the Mistral Trade Route!" Yang states happily.

"Bah!" Ruby exclaims sourly.

"Have pancakes." Nora says absent mindedly in her sleep as she snores away in the seat across from Ren.

"Oh, and what's this?" Yang asks rhetorically. "The Smugglers of Wind Path?"

"Bah! Bah, I say!" Ruby says in an increasingly annoyed tone. Of course Yang would keep gaining resources for a bit longer.

"I say, it looks like I'm taking two cards in my hand!" The brawler boasts, tossing a few playing pieces off the board and at Jaune who had just had his X-Ray and Vav comic confiscated by Pyrrha. The very same comic she was now reading while she made him read his textbook instead. After all Jaune needed to keep growing stronger, in both combat and in knowledge. Plus she wanted to see why he was so hooked on the comic.

"Have you no heart?" Ruby asks before collapsing on the table with tears. "Nooo!" She sobbed.

"There, there Ruby. It's just a game. You'll get her next time." Ace says continuing to comfort the girl.

"Thanks Ace. You always know just how to make me feel better." Ruby says with a small grin.

"Well, Weiss, it's your turn." Yang says to the ivory haired girl.

"I have... absolutely no idea what's going on." Weiss concedes to more experienced player.

While Yang and Ruby were well acquainted with the ways of the game, Weiss was new and was still learning how to play against seasoned veterans like the sisters.

"Look, it's easy!" Yang says sliding over to Weiss to coach her. "You're playing as Vacuo which means that all Vacuo-based cards come with a bonus." She explains.

"That sounds dumb." Weiss huffs. As Yang sifts through her cards she spies Weiss's better cards.

"See, you've got Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge... Oh, oh! Resourceful Raider! See, now you can take Ruby's discarded Air Fleet-"

"Nooo!" Ruby howls once again. That was her fleet! They didn't deserve to be pillaged when they can't fight back.

"…and put it in your hand!" Yang instructs.

"Okay." Was Weiss' simple response.

"And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance against Natural-based hazards, you can use Sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom!" Yang suggests before pointing a finger at Weiss. "Just know that I will not forget this declaration of war." She says slowly returning to her own side of the table.

"And that means...?" Weiss asks, still lost on the concept.

"You're just three moves away from conquering Remnant!" Ruby cries.

"Y-yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms!" Weiss laughs in a manner more befitting of psychotic fiend than a proper heiress. But she was too wrapped up in the moment to care.

"Trap card..." Yang says quickly killing the girl's megalomaniacal rant.

"Huh?" Weiss asks in confusion.

"Your armies have been destroyed." Yang explains, wiping off Weiss' pieces from the board.

"I hate this game of emotions we play." Weiss cries tearing up and slumping down in her chair.

"Stay strong, Weiss! We'll make it through this together!" Ruby Says hopping onto her partners lap and hugging her.

"Shut up! Don't touch me!" Weiss cries. Her actions betray her words when she returns her partner's embrace.

"What did you expect Weiss? Yang gave you a game winning play. Of course she would be able to counter it." Matthew laughs.

"Alright Blake, you're up!" Yang says putting her arms behind her head victoriously.

"Oh, um, sorry, what am I doing?" The ebony haired girl asks. While she was trying to participate she couldn't keep her focus on the game but rather her thoughts from this morning.

"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the Kingdoms of Remnant!"

"Right." Blake sighs.

"Hey! Can I play?" Jaune asks walking up to the table.

"Sorry Jaune, we've already got 4 people." Ruby states.

"Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt that you possess." Weiss adds proudly.

"Uhh, you attacked your own naval fleet 2 turns ago." Yang reminds the girl eliciting an annoyed groan from Weiss.

"Bring it on, Ice Queen! I'll have you know that I have been told that I am a natural born leader!" Jaune declares confidently.

"By who? Your mother?" Weiss scoffs.

"That's a burn dude." Dezaryl laughs.

"A-and Pyrrha!" Jaune quickly adds.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha says waving at the mention of her name.

"Come on, let me play your hand for a turn!" The blonde knight pleads.

"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo!" Weiss states denying Jaune access to her cards.

"Why not? I'm trustworthy! I haven't told any of Ace's secrets and you've trusted me with way more important stuff before. I mean, you told us all that Blake is secretly a Fa-"

Pyrrha quickly runs over covering Jaune's mouth before he could say more.

"Fun-loving person, whom we all admire and respect." Pyrrha says trying to cover up Jaune's near mistake.

"Nice save." Zweii says sarcastically.

Unfortunately the damage was already with Blake looking rather annoyed that her secret was out. It was fine with friends but it didn't mean she was happy about it.

"Right. That. Ladies, enjoy your battle." Jaune says with a bow before returning to his table with Pyrrha.

"Sup losers." Sun greets walking up with his fingers in a peace sign.

"Hey Sun!" Ruby greets the young monkey Faunus.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake... Ice Queen…"

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" Weiss inquires indignantly.

"I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend." Sun continues ignoring the fencer's question. Neptune joins him looking around the room.

"Uhh, aren't libraries for reading?" The blue haired boy asks.

"Thank you!" Ren says throwing his hands up in the air. Clearly the new guy understood that they were meant to be quiet here, not yelling over a board game.

"Pancakes!" Nora exclaims being roused from her sleep by her childhood friend.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd." Sun mocks.

"Geh, geh, geh, geh! "Intellectual," okay? Thank you." Neptune says scolding his friend in defense. "I'm Neptune." He says greeting everyone else.

"Nep, these are my buddies Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora." Sun says motioning to team JNPR. "And these guys over here are Team: AZRE."

"Doesn't that go against the standards of team naming?" Neptune asks.

"Hey, you find a word using our names that follows that standard, then we'll talk." Matthew says.

"I agree with Matt. To be fair I think it's better than SSSN." Sun says.

"Thank you Sun. I'm Matt and this is my partner Dez." Matthew says introducing himself and his archer friend.

"I'm Zweii. It's nice to meet one of Sun's friends." Zweii says shaking his hand.

"And I'm…"

"Ace right? Sun's told me a lot about you." Neptune says cutting Ace off.

"I hope they've been good things." Ace smiles.

"They have. Dude that armor is pretty sweet."

"Thank you." Ace says accepting the compliment.

"Is it true you grabbed Sun by the tail and beat him?" Neptune asks curiously.

"Yes it is." Ace laughs.

"Hey that match was unfinished. You're just lucky Blake was there to stop it."

"Says the guy that got his tail thoroughly handed to him." Ace counters with a smirk. "I'd try a little harder to research your enemy before running head first into a butt kicking."

"Make me." Sun taunts playfully.

"I don't make monkeys I just train them. Just use Matt for an example.

"Haha very funny." Matthew says rolling his eyes.

"Double burn!" Dezaryl says from the side lines.

"Well played Wolfie, well played." Yang add.

"Dang it Yang, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that!?" Ace askes a bit angrily.

"Yeah. Don't you know only Ruby can call him that?" Matthew laughs.

"Retaliation!" Dearyl shouts.

"I'll make you run laps, I swear to Dust Matt." Ace warns his friend.

"So Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asks, ignoring the bickering friends and focusing on the new cool guy before her.

"Haven." Neptune answers. "And I don't believe I've caught your name, snow angel."

"Um, I'm Weiss." She replies nervously.

"Are you kidding me!?" Jaune pouts. If he would have called her that he would have been frozen to a tree… Again.

"Pleasure to meet you." Neptune says smoothly.

"I never took you as the board game playing type." Sun says as he approaches Blake.

"Right, well, I think I'm done playing actually. I'll see you guys later." Blake says moodily as she pushes past him and leaves the library leaving him heart fallen.

"Women." Nora shrugs with a smile.

"Mr. Wolfblade." Came the booming voice of none other than Professor Port as he made his way over to the group. "I finally tracked you down my dear boy. I do hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Just hanging out with my friends. You were looking for me?" Ace asks the boisterous professor.

"Yes, I was wondering if you would be kind enough to collect some data with me on your little project."

"Ah, sure thing professor. I'll see you guys later then." Ace answers bidding farewell to his friends.

"Aww." Ruby pouts. "Can I at least get a kiss?" She asks sweetly.

"Of course you can." Ace smiles. He wasn't one to turn down showing his affections to the young girl even in the presence of others. Walking over, he plants a kiss on her cheek. "Bye Ruby."

"Bye Ace. Have fun with you know who."

"Ah young love." Port sighs. "I remember some of my younger days searching it out. Ah but don't mind that. Let us make haste."

"Sure thing. You guys have fun." Ace says before following Port out. It was time to go see his favorite Grimm, Shadow.

* * *

_Ace…_

* * *

As I sit upon a rather large boulder in the forest, I watch Shadow interact with Port, taking notes all the while. This process was the basis we have been using to document his behavior and other various attributes for the assignment. Of course this was much more than a paper for a grade. This was scientific research.

Of course no one said science couldn't be fun. Most observations we make come from Shadow playing around. Other times we give him a task and see if he can complete it and how efficiently he does it. Most of the time Shadow understands what he's being asked but it's really obvious when he doesn't. He lies down almost as if he's disappointed he can't comply. That in itself was an interesting discovery.

"So Mr. Wolfblade, you have been with Shadow for a long time now have you not?" Port asks.

"Many years, yes. And please, Ace is fine." I answer.

"Ah yes, Ace then. Tell me, do you perchance have a certain affinity to Grimm in general or just Shadow?"

"Well I wouldn't say affinity as in attraction or sympathy. I guess I have found them to be interesting. There's so much we don't know about them." I answer petting Shadow as he climbs up to me.

"I understand. They are quiet the mystery aren't they? As much as I love hunting them I do like to study them and see what is to be learned. But you have such a knack for uncovering secrets we thought to be impossibilities. That is something to be proud of." Port replies.

Suddenly we hear what sounds like a bird singing somewhere in the forest. But this wasn't like any normal bird I had ever heard.

Shadow immediately perks up at the noise, wagging his tail and running off in the direction of the sound.

"Well, what's got into him I wonder." Port says.

"I'd like to know that as well. It's like he was being called. Normally he only responds to my call." I say in response.

"A new observation then! Splendid." Port says with enthusiasm.

Almost as soon as Shadow had left he came back into view but this time he wasn't alone. Perched on his head was a small Nevermore.

"Well that's… New." I say as they approach.

"Do you think it to be docile?" Port asks.

"How am I supposed to know? I've never seen this one before." I answer.

Before Shadow could move any closer the Nevermore chirped signaling for him to stop. It continued communicating with Shadow as if asking him questions.

"They appear to be talking to each other. That's rather fascinating." I note.

"Indeed. Communication in groups of same species Grimm is normal but I have never heard of them talking with other species." Port says.

Shadow tries to come closer but the Nevermore stops him again. This time Shadow looks up and wags his tail.

"I think the Nevermore is asking if we're safe to be around." I state. "It's okay little one. If you're friends with Shadow then you're safe around us." I tell it.

A couple seconds of waiting and it actually flies off of Shadow and onto my helmet.

"Ho ho!" It seems you've made another friend." Port laughs.

I stretch my arm out and give it a new perch. The bird accepts the invitation and flutters down landing on it.

"Well now, you're an interesting one. You're not like the others are you?" I ask.

In response the Nevermore chirps.

"Interesting. It seems to be mimicking sounds and calls of song birds." Port notes.

"You like to sing?" I ask earning a short call like we heard earlier before it rubs it's head against my arm.

"Well if we're going to be friends you need a name." I say.

"What will you call it?" Port asks.

"I'm going to call Her, Aria. How's that sound?" I ask her. She answers by flying up and around in circles before landing on my head again. "Aria it is then." I pull out my scroll and video call Ruby.

"Hey Ace! How are things with Port and Shadow?" Ruby asks.

"Pretty good. I even made a new little friend." I say with a smile.

"A friend?" She asks curiously.

I pan the camera up to show her Aria.

"Ruby, meet Aria."

"Ace, it's a little Nevermore! Aww it's so cute." Ruby coos. "Wait a minute… I know this one." Ruby says suddenly.

"You do?" I ask in surprise.

"Uh-huh. At least I think I do. When I was visiting you after the accident, I fell asleep in your room. When I woke up the next morning, I saw a little Nevermore watching you. Then it stared at me and flew away." She explains.

I look up as best as I can at Aria.

"Was that you watching me?" I ask Aria. She responds with another flight in circles before landing again.

"What does that mean?" Ruby asks.

"I think that's her way of saying yes."

"Wow. Where did you find her?"

"Shadow and her seem to be good friends." I answer.

"Aww, that's so cute he's making friends. Are you going to keep her?"

"I don't know. She seems to like it around us so I don't see why not. And we'd have one more friend to help with the study." I reply.

"That sounds great! Can I tell the others?"

"Sure. I trust them too you know."

"Yay! I'll let them know. I'll talk to you later Ace. Love you!" She says before hanging up.

"Well, I'd believe it's safe to say we learned much today, wouldn't you agree Ace?" Port asks.

"Yes, I believe so too." I answer with a smile as Aria flies back to Shadow. "We're going to go ahead and get going now. You two be safe okay?"

Shadow barks and Aria chirps in response before taking off deeper into the forest.

"Very fascinating." Port muses.

"What is professor?"

"The bonds you make with beings such as them. They defy nature." Port replies.

"I suppose so… Professor Port, do you think they are capable of having souls?"

"Hmm, a rather good question my boy. While my natural response would be no, you seem to continue proving that there may be more to them than we had originally thought. So… I suppose it might be possible." He answers as we walk back to the school. "What do you believe?"

"I think… I believe that they do. At least Shadow and Aria do." I answer.

"Then hold firm to your beliefs. Odds are you may be on to something." Port says encouragingly.

"Thanks. I will."

As we walk in silence, I think back to Shadow and Aria. I wonder if they are really the only ones like them. For the longest I thought only Shadow possessed something greater. Now it seems he isn't alone after all.

One thing's for sure. I made a really interesting new friend today.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm here again with another chapter. Sorry it took a while but I had things to do. So as you may have read, Ace has a new Grimm Companion! If you've been paying attention this is Aria's second appearance in the series. I've been waiting to introduce her for a while now.**

**So my chapters haven't been so lengthy lately and there's a reason for that. I started writing with a goal to give a decent amount of story with each chapter and as I wrote they got longer. But it isn't easy to write or read over 5,000 words a chapter so I want to set my goals a little lower again. 2500-4000 isn't bad right?**

**Anyway, next on my list is probably the Halloween Misadventure so I hope you all are looking forward to that. I know I am. As always if you have something to say about the story feel free to leave a review or send me a PM.**

**Volume 3 is coming RWBY Fans! Get lost in the hype and I'll see you all next time!**


	29. Chapter 27

**Making Plans: Painting the Town Red and Blue**

* * *

As Ace walked through the hall to return to his room, he soon found Ruby, Weiss, and Yang walking to their own, the latter of the trio fuming. It was amazing her eyes had not shifted to their menacing shade of red because of her anger.

"Ugh, we should have never let him play!" Yang roared as they reached their door.

"What's her deal?" Ace asked as he joined them.

"She's just mad cuz' the new guy beat her!" Ruby explained as she gave her boyfriend a quick hug. "See, if you had just attacked when I told you none of this would have happened." Ruby stated as they entered the room.

"Ah, Neptune crippled the all-powerful Xiao Long Empire huh?" Ace asked amused.

"Yep. It could have been avoided if she would have listened to me."

Upon their arrival, Blake quickly felt the need to escape the sudden intrusion of her solitude. Stealthily she made her way to the door. But within a few steps from the door, she found she wasn't as stealthy as she thought.

"Stop." Weiss ordered, pointing at Blake, the Faunus' hand retracting from the door knob as she knew she was caught. Satisfied, Weiss continued. "Lately you've been quiet, antisocial and moody!" The ivory haired girl stated in an annoyed tone.

"Uh, have you met Blake?" Yang asked rhetorically.

Ignoring the comment, Weiss pressed on with what she had to say.

"Which I get is kind of your thing, but you've been doing it more than usual! Which quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong!" Weiss reminded the ebony haired Faunus. "So, Blake Belladonna, what is wrong!?" Weiss asked.

"Blake, what seems to be the trouble?" Ace asked.

"I just, I don't understand how everyone can be so calm." Blake finally answered.

"You're still thinking about Torchwick?" Ruby asked moving closer to her troubled friend.

"Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it!" Blake shouted in a manner unfitting of her normally calm attitude. " Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!"

"Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it." Yang assured her partner.

"Well I'm not! They don't know the White Fang like I do!" Blake exclaimed.

"She does have a point. I have to agree with Blake. If the cops were enough, we wouldn't even be having this discussion." Ace mused.

"Okay, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, cheating death, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the four of you think that you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells!" Weiss surmised.

"Uh, who?" Ruby asked slightly baffled.

"Bad guys Rubes." Ace explained briefly.

"But let me once again be the voice of reason." Weiss continued. "We're students! We're not ready to handle this sort of situation!"

"Well yeah, but..." Ruby began.

"We're not ready!" Weiss declared silencing her leader.

"And we may never be ready! Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day. They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!" Blake proclaimed in a strong outburst. Never had they seen their quiet friend so riled up like this.

"Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses…" Ruby started.

"Ahem." Ace stated with his arms crossed.

"And Huntsmen, to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale... Say aye." Ruby finished.

"Yes! I love it when you're feisty!" Yang said, pumping her fist enthusiastically.

"Well, I suppose it could be fun." Weiss relented.

"You can count me and the boys in as well." Ace declared.

"None of you said aye!" Ruby pouted.

Ace gave her a quick peck on the cheek, replacing the pout with a smile and faint blush.

"Hey! None of that when I'm around." Yang demanded.

"Alright then, we're in this together!" Blake stated, a bit happier now that her friends were on the same page as her.

"Let's hatch a plan!" Ruby shouted excitedly.

"Yeah!" Yang shouted in equal enthusiasm.

Ruby let out a gasp in sudden realization.

"I left my board game at the library!" She shouted, quickly dashing out of the room to retrieve her possession.

"We're doomed." Weiss moaned.

"Hey, have a little faith." Ace smiled.

"I'll be right back!" Ruby shouted from the hall before the sound of a collision was heard.

"… I'll go check on her." Ace said before leaving the room.

Stepping out, Ace spotted Ruby not too far down the hall on the floor. In front of her stood two people he had never seen before. The first was a tall male with gray hair and eyes. Next to him stood a girl with a dark complexion. Her hair was a minty green, but her eyes were a dark red color.

Both of the new people were wearing similar uniforms. They weren't Beacon uniforms so they must have been visiting from another kingdom.

"Sorry. Are you okay?" Ruby asked, looking at the female she had run into.

"I'm fine." She answered simply, holding out a hand to Ruby. "Just watch where you're going." She requested as Ruby took her hand, pulling the younger girl up.

Ace quickly made his way over to investigate.

The two newcomers seemed a bit surprised at Ace's apparel as he expected but the male quickly shrugged off his initial shock.

"Hey man, like the armor." The gray haired teen said, making friendly conversation.

"Oh thanks. My name's Ace." Ace replied to the compliment. "Hey what happened?" He asked Ruby.

"I kinda wasn't looking where I was going and accidently bumped into her." Ruby explained motioning to the female. "Oh, right, sorry. Um, I'm Ruby! Are you new?" Ruby asked trying to make the best of a poor situation.

Before the girl could answer, another female with fiery eyes stepped forward, moving between the first two. Her hair was a lighter black, almost reminiscent of soot. She too sported the same uniform as the others. Something about her made Ace uneasy. Perhaps it was her controlling demeanor, a powerful air about her that sent a chill down his spine.

"Visiting from Haven, actually." She answered casually.

"Ooh! You're here for the festival!" Ruby said in excitement. "But exchange students have their own dormitory."

"I guess we just got turned around." The male said.

"Hey, don't worry, it happens all the time." Ruby said as they walked past her. "Uh, your building is just east of here."

"Thanks. Maybe we'll see you around." The smoky haired girl said before taking her leave.

"Yeah, maybe! Oh, uh, and welcome to Beacon!" Ruby said, waving after the trio. "They seemed nice."

"Mhmm." Ace hummed in agreement. "Now, let's go get your board game." Ace said with a smile.

"So how is Shadow doing? Get anything for your project?" Ruby asked curiously.

"He's doing fine. I think he enjoys having a companion out there with him. With Aria around, it's opened up so many more things to discover." Ace answered.

"I think it's great he found a friend, and she's so small and adorable to boot!" Ruby stated.

"Yeah I think so too."

After retrieving the game, both Ace and Ruby made their ways back to their respective rooms to turn in for the night. With classes to return to tomorrow they would need their rest, especially after a day like they had today.

Ace walked into his dorm to find his team already preparing for sleep, minus Matthew who was too enthralled in his game to remove himself from it.

"There you are. It took you long enough." Zweii stated with a friendly smile. "So I assume everything went well with Port?"

"Yep. No boring stories this time either." Ace replied stripping off his armor and carefully placing it beside his bed.

"Ruby told us you made a new friend. A Nevermore if I remember right." Dezaryl stated.

"Yeah, that's right. Shadow seems to be good friends with her."

"And now with you." Matthew stated as he finally tuned off the game. "I swear if you keep this up, you're going to be able to open a Grimm petting zoo." Matthew joked as he got into his bed.

"I could see that. It's sad but I could." Dezaryl said in agreement.

"It would make quite the attraction." Zweii laughed.

"As amusing as that is, no." Ace said as he now lay in his bed with only his Taijitu under suit on.

"Dude. We need to get you some pajamas. Like bad." Matthew stated.

"I'll work on it." Ace huffed settling under his sheets. "Good night guys."

"Good night." The others replied back.

With that, the room was filled with silence as the four teens slept peacefully.

* * *

Morning came as it always did, coaxing the students from their sleep to begin a new day. Of course for Ace it would have to coax a little harder as he slept soundly.

"Ace, time to get up. We can't let you sleep in on our first day back to class." Zweii said stirring his leader from his sleep.

"Well, technically you could…" Ace yawned rolling over and facing his partner.

Zweii stood there with a stern look on his face, staring at Ace.

"Alright." Ace sighed, getting up and stretching.

"We're going to head out. We'll see you in class man." Matthew stated as he and the other members left.

Ace stood up and walked to his armor, picking up the helmet and seemingly staring into the yellow eyes.

_'__I don't take it off very often.'_

_'__Well, maybe you should. I think you look great without it hiding your face all the time.'_

Thinking back to his conversation with Ruby, Ace put the helmet down on the night stand.

"Maybe…" Ace said to himself.

Meanwhile in Oobleck's the rest of AZRE were seated in their usual spots near RWBY with the seat closest to Ruby open for their leader… Who still wasn't there.

Ruby herself was becoming anxious wondering what could be keeping Ace. Ever since they had started dating she always noticed a special feeling inside her when he was around. She always looked forward to seeing him every day and his absence was making her worried.

"Ah, Team AZRE, where pray tell is your leader this fine morning? He does know that class will be starting in a mere moment does he not?" Oobleck asked zipping between the three members.

"Not sure, but he'll be here." Matthew assured him.

Zweii soon became irritated at the increasing lateness of his partner.

"I swear, if he went back to sleep after we left I am going to…"

The knight was cut off as rapid footsteps could be heard approaching the door.

"I'm here! Whew, sorry I'm late. I was looking for my uniform and I couldn't find the thing." A normally Grimm clad student explained as he walked in wearing his Beacon uniform instead.

Ruby nearly squealed in delight at the sight of her boyfriend free of his armor, his sapphire blue eyes and jet black hair let loose from the confines of his head gear.

"Eee! He's not wearing his armor!" Ruby cheered bouncing up and down in her seat.

"Mister Wolfblade?" Oobleck asked, seemingly caught off guard by Ace's appearance.

"The one and only." Ace grinned sitting down next to Ruby.

"Ah, yes. To what do we owe for this special occasion?" The doctor jested.

"Just felt like trying something different. That's all." Ace answered.

"Very well then. Alright class, today we will…" Oobleck started beginning the lecture, but the later words were lost on RWBY and AZRE who whispered amongst themselves as Oobleck taught.

"So that's what you look like under all that armor, huh Wolfie? Not bad." Yang said.

"Dude, you dress up nice." Matthew grinned as he looked at the rare sight before him.

"I'll say." Ruby said smiling at Ace.

"Only for you." Ace replied smiling back.

"Good job Ruby. You have achieved a feat I thought to be impossible." Matthew laughed.

Ace merely rolled his eyes at the comment before returning his attention to the crimsonette sitting next to him.

"So what's the game plan for today?" He asked.

"We're meeting after Port's to begin Operation Crime Fighters." Ruby said proudly.

"Next time I get to pick the name." Weiss interjected.

"Aww, but I thought I did good on that one." Ruby whined pouting.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about? What plan?" Dezaryl asked.

"Were going to try to figure out what Torchwick and the White Fang are up to after class." Blake answered.

"Oh, doing some undercover vigilante type stuff. Nice." Matthew said.

"Mhmm. I told Ruby she could count on us to help." Ace replied.

"About that… As much as I would love to because that sound really cool and stuff, I can't." Matthew confessed.

"Why?"

"I'm kinda scheduled for extra tutoring after class. Gotta start the semester solid man." Matthew explained.

"Well while I'm disappointed in your timing, I'm proud you're getting your priorities straight." Ace said. "Don't worry. I'm sure Zweii, Dez, and myself can handle…"

"I can't go either." Dezaryle said interrupting. "I have a sparring session scheduled…"

"Same here…" Zweii confessed.

"With who?" Ace asked in disbelief.

"CFVY." Zweii answered. "More specifically Fox and Yatsuhashi. We asked for a match with them sometime before the semester really started up and this is our only opportunity before they go on their mission."

"Alright. I won't let an opportunity like that slip away from you guys." Ace said with a smile. "We should be okay."

"Thanks Ace." Dezaryle said.

"No problem. Good luck in your fight."

"Good luck to you all as well." Zweii said earning a nod from Weiss and Blake.

For the rest of the class the group remained silent listening to the lesson. Soon the class was over, and the next, and the one after that. Finally after Port's class, and a resounding rejection from Weiss to Jaune on his attempt at securing a date with her, the five met within RWBY's dorm. Ace walked in after fetching his gear to see RWBY sporting some new clothes themselves.

Weiss donned a pure white jacket with black buttons and edging. Her family emblem was once more displayed one her back but this time in a light blue. Her skirt was laced with black frills on the inside and to complete the ensemble she wore white high heel boots with frilly black thigh high stockings.

Blake's outfit consisted of a white v-neck zip up shirt with black along the bottom and her emblem in white on the left side. Her pants were also black with white stripes running down the sides of her legs. She wore a belt connected to a piece of black flowing fabric with a separate piece of purple fabric beneath that. For her boots she switched from her low heels to a set of black high heels. To finish it off she kept her black bow to cover her ears as well as her ribbons on her arms.

Yang looked stunning sporting a collared cream top over a black shirt, and over top of the former, a black article of clothing consisting of a raised collar, a strap across her collar bone, and mid-length sleeves with gold at the ends. She wore a pendant with what looked like an oval amethyst that matched her eyes beautifully. A pair of crooked black belts with gold accents running across her hips, and a purple piece of fabric with lilac lace around the edges added to her attire, the fabric hanging from her left hip and over her miniskirt. She also wore black stockings with her symbol placed on each and gold triangular studs on each knee. Her boots of choice were black with belted straps and white bows on the top of each.

As good as the three looked, at least in Ace's mind, they just couldn't compare to Ruby. She wore a long-sleeve, light gray shirt with black belted cuffs near the ends of the sleeves. Over top of the gray shirt she donned a black pinafore with two vertical lines of red stitching, much like the lacing of her corset. On her left arm were pieces of metal arranged to form a spaulder. In place of her blouse, she wore a red and black skirt with her emblem printed in black. She kept her black stockings and black-and-red boots, as well as her trademark hood and cape, this time complimented by a red scarf.

"I thought that class would never end." Blake sighed tightening her wraps.

"And you all said I dressed up nice. You all look great." Ace complimented walking in. "Especially you Ruby." He added earning a blush from the young girl.

"Aww, thanks Wolfie!" Yang replied. "Where's your outfit?"

"This is it Yang. I don't have anything else to wear in all honesty." Ace admitted.

"Geez, you ever hear of casual wear?" Yang mocked.

"One step at a time Yang. I'm just getting used to not wearing my armor. It still feels… Awkward."

"Alright, guys, today's the day! The investigation begins!" Ruby cheered, jumping down from her bunk and to her boyfriend, who caught her easily.

"I'm glad to see we're taking this so seriously." Weiss huffed sarcastically.

"Hey, we've got a plan! That's... moderately serious." Yang said in slight hesitation.

"Right!" Ruby said in agreement as Ace placed her on the floor. "Everyone remember their roles?"

"You, Ace, and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." Weiss said going over their role.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning." Blake answered.

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard..." Yang said confidently.

"You're heading over to Junior's again aren't you?" Ace asked crossing his arms.

"Nooo…" Yang fibbed earning a look of disbelief from Ace. "Okay you caught me."

"Just don't get into trouble again. Tell the twins I say hey for me."

"Wait, you've been there?" Ruby asked.

"Yang dragged me there once." Ace answered.

"Admit it. You had fun." Yang smiled.

"Yes, but next time, a little warning would be nice."

"I'll think about it. Don't worry I got this covered."

"Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found." Ruby said, pleased with the plan.

"Yeah!" Sun shouted from outside surprising the group.

"Sun!" Blake exclaimed looking out the window to see Sun hanging from a tree by his tail.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked the monkey Faunus.

"Ah, it's easy; I do it all the time." Sun replied casually.

"You do what!?" Weiss shrieked.

"I climb trees all the time!" Sun replied, flipping into the room. "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

"We are going to investigate the situation... as a team." Blake answered.

"Then what's Ace doing here?" Sun questioned.

"He's part of the investigation team." Blake answered.

"Sorry, Sun. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby said apologetically.

"Psh! That's dumb!" Sun scoffed. "We should always get friends involved! That's why I brought Neptune!" Sun announced, motioning to the side.

The group quickly looked out the window to see the blue haired boy perched precariously on the neighboring windowsill.

"Sup?" Neptune greeted with a smile.

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked, surprised at how high the boy had climbed.

"I have my ways. Seriously, though, can I come in? We're like, really high up right now." Neptune said nervously as he looked at the ground below.

"Sure. Guess we'll have to modify the plan a little." Ruby answered as Sun helped Neptune to a safer position within he building.

"Thanks guys."

"Alright, I'll go with Weiss and Ace." Ruby started, keeping the first part of the plan the same. "Sun, you can go with Blake. Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner." Ruby decided. "Everyone good?"

"Actually, Ruby, why don't you go with Yang? After all, she is your sister." Weiss reasoned.

"But I want to be with Ace." Ruby whined.

"He can go with you." Weiss offered.

"But, Weiss, who would go with you, then?" Ruby asked.

"Well... I guess Neptune could come with me."

Ruby laughed at the suggestion giving a humor filled "nah" while dragging Weiss out the door.

"But! But!" Weiss protested as she was forced out the door.

"Sorry Weiss, but Ruby's made up her mind." Ace said. "Besides, your change wouldn't have worked anyway. The club's too far away and Yang's bike only seats two." Ace added.

Weiss hung her head in defeat as the subtle flaw in her plan was pointed out and simply let herself be dragged by her eager leader.

* * *

"Woooow! I forget how big the Transmit tower looks up close!" Ruby said as she marveled at the CTT tower.

"You should see the one in Atlas!" Weiss replied proudly.

"That was the first one, right?" Ruby asked turning her attention to her partner.

"Correct. Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War." Weiss answered.

"Oooh, look at me! My name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!" Ruby laughed in mock Weiss tone.

"Don't be a pest! Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call from the library!" Weiss retorted.

"Debatable. While it is possible to perform such a task from very well anywhere with our Scrolls, you have to remember it's not a guarantee when making calls to other kingdoms." Ace argued.

"Wait. Why didn't we use the tower to call home back when we had that blizzard?" Ruby asked.

"The blizzard didn't affect just Beacon Ruby. It shut down power and communication across Vale." Weiss answered. "Plus to be perfectly honest, I didn't feel much like calling home anyway. Now stop gawking at the tower like a dolt and let's go. We have work to do."

"I know, but it's so coool! Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!" Ruby replied reaching for her Scroll, only to fumble it in her excitement, the device bouncing away from her.

"Oh! You dropped this." A familiar voice said as they tried handing Ruby her Scroll.

"Penny?!" Ruby said shocked as she stared at her missing friend.

The girl was equally surprised, her words failing her as she stood there awkwardly.

"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!" Ruby asked in a mix of excitement and worry.

"S-Sorry. I think you're confused." The ginger haired girl said nervously, hiccuping after and throwing Ruby her scroll. "Uh... I've got to go!" Penny said turning quickly and leaving her confused friends behind.

"That was strange. Why didn't she recognize us?" Ace wondered.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. You go make your call! I'll meet up with you later!" Ruby shouted back as she chased after Penny.

"Wait!" Weiss shouted in vain, ceasing quickly as she realized it was futile to try of stopping her.

"Umm, do you want me to stay with you or…" Ace began awkwardly.

"Just go…" Weiss sighed.

"Right. Good luck Weiss!" Ace shouted taking off after the fleeing pair.

"Penny!" Ruby called after her friend as she blocked her at the bottom of the stairs. "Where have you been? It's been weeks!" Ruby asked.

"There seems to be a... misunderstanding." Penny replied before continuing past Ruby.

"What?!" Ruby asked, seeming quite hurt. "Penny... Is everything okay?" Ruby asked as Penny continued to ignore her. She was acting strangely and Ruby was determined to find out why. Ruby frantically grabbed Penny by the arm, halting the girl. "Penny, please stop! Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me! Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need you to tell me what happened to you that night! Please... As a friend." Ruby pleaded as Ace rejoined the two.

"Penny, we've been worried about you for weeks now. The least you could do is give us an explanation. You said that you would want your friends to talk to you if something was up right?" Ace asked.

With a sigh Penny glanced around before moving closer to Ace and Ruby.

"It isn't safe to talk here." She stated simply. "Follow me." She said walking once more.

Ace and Ruby gave each other a confused look but follow after as requested. They followed the normally energetic girl to the city. Penny abruptly stopped looking around at their surroundings. Ruby placed her hand on Penny's shoulder startling the girl briefly. She was on edge for whatever reason and it was getting worrisome.

Penny faced the two and sighed before speaking once more.

"I wish I could help you, Ruby, Ace, but I don't know anything about those men." Penny confessed.

"Well, what happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you just disappeared! Were you kidnapped?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, no! Nothing like that!" Penny replied.

"Then where did you go?"

"That's something I would like to know as well. Last I saw of you was when I was on the roof watching you take out a small army almost by yourself. Next thing I know you just… Vanished. You didn't even say good bye." Ace said with hurt in his tone.

Penny's expression shifted to one of guilt briefly before she answered.

"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but..." Penny paused thinking on how she could best explain the situation her friends were unaware of. "You have to understand, my father loves me very much; he just worries a lot."

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Ruby said grinning earning a grin from Penny as well.

"Same for me, except it's usually my mother who's the worried one." Ace chuckled.

"But why not let us know you were okay?" Ruby asked continuing her interrogation.

"I... was asked not to talk to you. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. Or Ace. Anybody, really." Penny answered sadly.

"Was your dad that upset?"

"No, it wasn't my father..." Penny tried explaining but the sound of megaphones distracted the group.

Turning the corner they spied a platform in the center of a plaza where the holographic image of a man was displayed before six AK-130 Androids. There were large crates behind them as well as a large crowd in front.

The group recognized the holographic man to be General Ironwood from Atlas. Soon he began to speak.

" The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years, and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" He asked as the crowd clapped, the robots bowing in response. "But... the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine'... Well, that's just not good enough, is it? Presenting... the Atlesian Knight-200!" He announced proudly.

The crates opened and from them emerged six more machines. They were similar to the first ones but much more upgraded. The new robots stepped forward, trampling their predecessors with ease.

"Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary, these models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone!" Ironwood announced.

_'__Just how much more could he be adding?'_ Ace wondered.

"Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch." Ironwood continued drawing their attention.

"Ace? Ruby..?" Penny said trying to get their attention with no success as Ironwood continued to speak.

"So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce... the Atlesian Paladin!" He announced, his image fading away, quickly being replaced by a projection of a machine twice the size of even the newer models. "Now, we couldn't have him here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!" The disembodied voice of the General stated.

"Whoa..." Ruby said in amazement.

"That is one, big mech…" Ace said in a matching tone. "Make's our Grimm Mech look like a puppy…"

"Ace, Ruby? Maybe we should go somewhere else." Penny suggested with concern lacing her voice.

At the same time, two armored soldiers noticed Penny, pointing to her. She backs away carefully before breaking into a dead run down an alley. Ace and Ruby noticed this and called after her.

"Penny! Wait! Where are you going?" Ruby shouted.

"Ruby look!" Ace said pointing at the two soldiers that were heading for Penny.

Realizing Penny's situation, the two followed her in an attempt to catch up down the winding alley.

"Down here! She went this way!" One of the Atlesian soldiers called to his partner.

As the friends ran across the street, the two soldiers followed close behind, almost causing an accident with an oncoming car. They swiftly made it into another narrow alley. Ruby hung back quickly drawing Crescent Rose and cutting down a support beam holding a stack of crates, before returning back to its resting spot. The crates came down in a torrent, filling the alley and blocking the path behind them.

When Penny was right ahead of her, Ruby leapt into the air, running along the wall before launching herself at Penny.

"This way!" Ruby shouted as she picked up Penny, but quickly discovered Penny was much heavier than she had anticipated. Unable to keep up with the strain of carrying her hefty friend, Ruby crashed to the ground, Penny falling straight down as Ruby tumbled into the middle of the street. In her dazed state she didn't notice the truck barreling towards her.

"Ruby! Move!" Ace shouted as he was not close enough to help her otherwise.

Quickly Penny pushed Ruby out of the way and held her palms out. The truck unable to stop, collided into her hands before coming to an abrupt stop, the ground beneath Penny's feet crumbling from the force.

Ace and Ruby stared in awe as their friend had not only stopped the vehicle with her bare hands, but was actually holding it up a few inches from the ground. With no damage done to either party, minus the now crumbled hood of the truck, Penny put the truck down.

"She's… She's so strong." Ace gasped.

"Penny..?" Ruby called to her friend.

"Are you okay?" Penny asked the frightened driver that they recognized as the Dust till Dawn shopkeeper.

"Uh-huh..." Came his frightened reply.

Penny grew fearful of the crow of people, drawn to the commotion she had inadvertently caused saving her friend, and ever more so when the soldiers from before reappeared causing her to run back into the alley and past a still stunned Ace.

"Penny! Come back!" Ruby pleaded as she took off after her friend once more. "Ace!" She called snapping him out of his shock.

"R-Right." He stammered looking at the crowd of people blocking the soldiers before giving chase as well.

"Um... Uh..." Penny mumbled as she tried to choose a path of escape.

"Penny! Please! What is going on?! Why are you running? How did you do that?!" Ruby asked quickly despite how exhausted she was from running.

Ace leaned against a wall catching his breath as he too was tired from the constant running.

"Penny… Stop running. I can tell you're hiding something. Just tell us." Ace panted.

"I-I can't! Everything's fine!" Penny lied, hiccuping. "I-I don't want to talk about it!" She stated hiccuping again.

"Penny, if you can just tell us what's wrong, we can help you!" Ruby reasoned as Penny tried to retreat.

"No! No, no! You wouldn't understand..." Penny said sadly.

"Let us try! You can trust us."

"Penny, we won't judge you, but we can't help you if you don't let us." Ace said.

"You're my friends, right? You promise you're my friends?!" Penny asked frantically.

"I promise." Ruby answered softly.

"I promise as well." Ace answered. "And I always, no matter what, always keep my promises."

Penny remains silent for a little bit, looking at her hands.

"Ruby... Ace… I'm not a real girl." Penny said showing her palms.

At first glance they appeared to be injured, the skin peeled away. But it wasn't blood underneath. It was metal.

"Penny, I-I don't understand..." Ruby started as she and Ace looked at their friend for any explanation.

"Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura." Penny said turning her head away sadly. "I'm not real..."

Ruby surprised her by taking her hands in her own.

"Of course you are. You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me or Ace?" Ruby asked with a smile.

"I don't... um... You're... taking this extraordinarily well." Penny said in astonishment. She looked at Ace who was still staring. "Ace?"

"You're… You're a robot?" Ace asked hesitantly, to which Penny nodded. "That's… That's… That's incredible!" Ace exclaimed. "Oh my Dust, you can't even tell me that isn't cool! And you can't even tell!"

"You… You don't mind being friends with a machine?" Penny asked in surprise.

"A machine? Oh no, no, no. Penny, you're so much more than that. You're a person. More importantly you're our friend. The fact you were born of metal won't change that." Ace answered sincerely.

"You're not like those things we saw back there." Ruby said tapping Penny's chest. "You've got a heart, and a soul; I can feel it!"

"Ooohh... Oh Ruby! Ace! You're the best friends anyone could have!" Penny said happily, picking up the two with ease and hugging them tightly. Perhaps a bit too tight.

"No wonder… You wanted to keep it such a huge secret." Ace grunted.

"I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower!" Ruby groaned.

"Oh, he's very sweet! My father's the one who built me! I'm sure you would love him!" Penny said, back in her usual happy mood. She lowered her friends back to the ground relieving them of her death grip.

"Wow. He built you all by himself?" Ruby asked.

"Well, almost! He had some help from Mr. Ironwood." Penny answered.

"The General?! Wait... Is that why those soldiers were after you?"

"They like to protect me, too!"

"They don't think you can protect yourself?" Ruby scoffed in disbelief.

"They're not sure if I'm ready yet... One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the Tournament." The android girl explained.

"Penny, what are you talking about? Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace!"

"That's not what Mr. Ironwood said..." Penny said confused.

"Check down here!" One of the guards from before said not too far from the teens' position.

"You have to hide!" Penny exclaimed grabbing Ruby and carrying her towards a nearby dumpster.

"Whoa, wait! Before you throw my girlfriend in the dumpster, let me offer a different method." Ace said taking Ruby from Penny.

"Girlfriend?" Penny asked curiously.

"Oh yeah. Penny, since we last saw you, me and Ace have started dating!" Ruby explained.

"That's sensational! You'll have to tell me all about it some other time!" Penny said excitedly.

"Penny, wait! What are you doing? You don't have to go with them! We can help you!" Ruby protested.

"It's okay, Ruby. They're not bad people; I just don't want to get you both in trouble. Just promise me you won't tell anyone else my secret. Okay?" Penny requested.

"I promise." Ruby replied.

"I promise too." Ace added.

"Thank you. Now please hide." Penny ordered.

"On it." Ace said activating his semblance and cloaking both himself and Ruby.

"There she is!" One of the soldiers said as him and his partner rounded the corner.

"Sal-u-tations, officers!" Penny greeted the pair normally.

"Why were you running? And what happened to those people you were with?" The soldier asked.

"What people? I was by myself all day!" Penny lied, hiccuping once again.

"You shouldn't cause such a scene." The soldier said reprimanding the girl.

"Are you okay?" His partner asked in a much nicer tone.

"Just a scratch." Penny replied showing her 'injured' palms.

"Penny, your father isn't going to be happy about this." The first soldier said sternly.

"Please, just come with us." His partner requested.

"Yes, sir!" Penny said in compliance before they left the alley.

Once they were out of sight, Ace uncloaked himself and Ruby.

"Whoa, we were invisible. That was so cool." Ruby gushed.

"My semblance has its advantages." Ace grinned. "Like keeping you out of that smelly dumpster."

"Thanks for that." Ruby said.

A rat suddenly scurried over her foot, making Ruby freak out.

"Eww! Get it off, get it off!" Ruby shrieked.

"Geez Ruby. It's just a rat. You can't tell me my courageous girlfriend that hunts monsters is afraid of a rodent." Ace laughed.

"They're just so gross…" Ruby mumbled.

"Ha ha. Come on, let's get out of here."

Suddenly their Scrolls buzzed alerting them to a call from Blake.

"Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-" She started, sounding distressed before Sun cut her off.

"HEEEELLLLP!" Sun shouted, being heard loud and clear from Blake's Scroll. Big robot! And it's big! Really big!"

"Oh, I am not missing this! Let's go Ace!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Ace said as they dashed onward.

"That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something!" Sun explained.

"Where are you guys?" Yang asked.

"HURRYYYY!" Was their only reply.

"You heard the man. Let's go!" Ace shouted.

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered.

The sky had become dark, and after much running, Ace and Ruby began to slow.

"Where are they? You would think finding a giant robot would be easy." Ace mused looking around the highway.

"Blake! I'm in position!" Weiss announced over the Scroll drawing their attention.

The sound of heavy mechanical footsteps could be heard from the distance and before long the source of the noise stumbled off the overpass and in front of Ace and Ruby.

"Ace, I think we found them." Ruby said as her teammates landed next to them.

"I said it once and I'll say it again. That is one big robot." Ace said as the Paladin stood back up.

"That's exactly what Sun said." Blake stated.

Roman chuckled as he approached the group.

"Hello girls. I see you brought some new friends to play with." The master thief mocked.

"Freezer Burn!" Ruby shouted before she and Blake jumped out of the way, Ruby firing Crescent Rose to propel her backwards.

Weiss cast one of her ice glyphs on the ground in front of her before Yang leapt into the air and smashed into it. Instead of ice forming, Yang's heat combined with the Glyph making a mist around the field and surrounding the Paladin blinding it.

Ace used this opportunity to cloak himself and prepare for a stealth attack.

The Paladin activated some form of laser sensors to search out its targets. Blake and Yang ran around it drawing its attention as it tried and failed to track them. Taking a wild shot, it fired a blast that narrowly missed both Blake and Yang.

Ruby rushed forward slashing the Paladin with her scythe. The force was strong enough to stagger it but not powerful enough to leave a scratch on the metal suit.

"Checkmate!" Ruby shouted, this time Weiss and Blake teaming up.

The monochrome duo went for the feet until, slashing with their weapons. Weiss jumped up and stabbed her rapier intone of the front sensors destroying it. She formed a glyph and leapt away to safety. Noticing that the Paladin's foot was raised to crush Blake, she summoned another glyph under her teammate to launch her backwards before the crushing blow could land.

Irritated with the pesky teens, Torchwick fired a volley of missiles at the duo. Blake and Weiss maneuvered out of harm's way as the rockets hit nothing but pavement. Unfortunately Weiss leapt too high giving Roman the perfect opportunity to send a twin energy blast straight for her. Weiss deflected both blasts but they were a bit too strong and launched her backwards.

Weiss cast a beam of light from Myrtenaster to the ground under Blake, forming a yellow clockwork circle that's absorbed into the Faunus girl and surrounded her with a yellow glow. Roman fired another volley of rockets, this time Blake using the time augmentation to slice through every missile before they could even get close, detonating them a safe distance away.

A loud thunk could be heard from the top of the Paladin alerting Roman. Checking the monitor, Roman became confused as he saw nothing. No shots were fired so what made that noise?

"Where are you?" Roman whispered looking around.

Suddenly right in front of him Ace uncloaked, hanging from the top of the Paladin's head.

"Boo!" Ace yelled startling the cocky criminal.

"Gah! You nearly gave me a heart attack kid." Roman said, flailing the mech around to shake Ace off.

Ace held on, drawing Lunar Fang from his side. Taking the blade in both hands Ace began repeatedly driving the sword into the front of the thick metal armor, barely penetrating its chassis.

"Get off!" Roman growled, using the mech's right arm to try grabbing Ace.

Ace evaded back to the top of the Paladin, making Roman miss and instead hit his own mech.

"Wow, you actually fell for that age old trick." Ace laughed jumping off and rejoining his friends on the ground.

"Nice move Wolfie!" Yang commended.

"Ladybug!" Ruby ordered, herself and Blake springing into action.

The two dashed back and forth beneath the Paladin, slashing its legs with each pass. After doing little more than making Roman angrier, both launched themselves into the air and came down together on the shoulder, severing the left arm from the machine entirely.

Yang using the distraction leapt onto the back of the Paladin and began furiously punching the Paladin, Ember Celica firing with each impact.

On the inside of the mech, Roman was being bounced around with every hit as the machine flashed red, showing it was being critically damaged. Not beaten yet, Roman moves the mech backwards slamming Yang clean through a support column and almost embedding her in a second.

As she falls helplessly, Roman re-positioned the Paladin to face her before delivering a powerful punch with the mech's remaining arm.

"Yang!" Blake cried out in concern for her partner.

"Don't worry! With each hit she gets stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back! That's what makes her special.

Ace transformed Lunar Fang and began unloading rounds into the Paladin giving the blonde brawler time to get back up. The Paladin shrugs off the attack and swipes at him, knocking him backwards.

"Ace, are you okay!?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ace answered getting back up.

Yang finally back on her feet, shined with a brilliant glow from all the energy she had absorbed from her beating. Torchwick sent another punch, hoping to finish the brawler with a final strike. Yang caught the fist with ease, her eyes burning a deep red with her enhanced state. With a single punch, Yang shattered the remaining arm completely.

"Looks like Torchwick's been… Disarmed." Ace smirked.

"Funny." Blake said rolling her eyes. Ace merely shrugged at her response.

Torchwick, now very vulnerable with his damaged machine, desperately kicked Yang away to avoid further damage, sending her flying past the group.

"Bumblebee!" Ruby ordered.

Blake quickly threw Gambol Shroud to her partner, Yang taking hold of it when it was within her reach. Using the momentum Yang already created, Blake swung Yang around and back at Torchwick. The criminal is quick on the draw and side steps, Yang missing him completely.

"We have to slow it down!" Ruby shouted.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Weiss asked.

After a few seconds Ruby had an answer.

"Ice Flower!"

Ruby aimed Crescent Rose at Roman while Weiss summoned glyphs to surrounded the sniper rifle's barrel. Ruby fired her weapon, sending a Glyph charged round straight into the Paladin's chest. The round exploded on contact forming large spikes of ice on the impact zone. A few more shots completely encased the mech, immobilizing it.

Now with a much easier target in sight, Blake once again swung Yang back around, the blonde hitting the Paladin full force, decimating the rest of the suit and ejecting Torchwick onto the ground.

"Just got this thing cleaned..." Roman mumbled as he stood up unharmed.

Yang fires a round at the defenseless thief, but her shot is intercepted by a short girl with pink, brown, and a bit of white hair. Her eyes are also differing colors, one being brown, the other pink. The newcomer opens her pink parasol and deflects the full blast leaving herself and Roman unharmed.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, Ice Queen..." Roman said earning a "Hey!" from Weiss. "Always a pleasure! Neo, if you would..." He finished turning to the short girl who curtsies to the group.

Yang ready to take out the new foe rushed forward punching at her. But instead of hitting her target her fist smashed into a wall of glass, shattering it. Both Torchwick and the multicolored girl have vanished only to be seen on the side of an escaping Bullhead.

Torchwick had escaped them again.

"So I guess he got a new henchman..." Yang stated.

"Yeah, I guess she really made our plans... fall apart!" Weiss replied, snickering at her own attempt at a joke.

"Oh geez…" Ace said with a smile as Ruby laughed a bit.

"No. Just... no." Yang sighed.

"What- But, you do it!" Weiss argued.

"There's a time and a place for jokes."

"Was this not it?" Weiss asked.

"No, it just wasn't very good." Yang answered walking away with Blake.

"Well, at least I'm trying!"

"Don't worry Weiss. No one laughed at my joke either." Ace said comforting the girl.

"Oh, Ace. I said hey to the twins for ya. They both say 'hey'." Yang informed.

"Nice."

"Wait... Where are Sun and Neptune?" Ruby asked.

"Eh, I'm sure they're fine." Ace replied as they made the long trip home to Beacon.

* * *

Ace entered his room to find Matthew, Zweii and Dezaryl laid haphazardly on their beds.

"Hey guys. What happened to you two?" Ace asked the archer and the knight.

"Fox and Yatsuhashi kicked their asses." Matthew answered.

"It wasn't a total shut out. We actually did well for a while." Dezaryl stated.

"We fought hard, but in the end they had more experience." Zweii said tiredly.

"There's no shame in that." Ace said. "How'd was tutoring Matt?"

"Long and frustrating… But I'm starting to get the hang of it." Matthew answered. "What did you do all night?"

"We fought a giant robot. It was intense." Ace answered removing his armor and getting into bed.

"Wow. Seems we all had a long day." Matthew sighed.

"Find anything on Torchwick?" Zweii asked.

"Not much other than the fact he's recruiting more people to make our lives harder." Ace answered.

"Think we can handle it?" Dezaryl asked.

"As long as we stick together, we'll be just fine." Ace answered. "Good night guys."

"Good night."

With no more to say, the tired teens drifted to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Sooo... How have you all been? I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. I know I did. As of Christmas Eve, this story has surpassed 20,000 views!**

**I'm not gonna lie, my absence was a result of an epic case of the lazies. For that I sincerely apologize. So as a way to show I'm sorry I have made this chapter longer than most. I will note that I have started up college again and i don't have as much free time as last semester to write but I'm going to try getting these out more frequently. Try is the keyword.**

**If you like what you're reading don't forget to Fav, Follow, or even leave a review to show your support. I'll catch you guys in the next installment.**


	30. Chapter 28

**Return to the City: A Wolf's Date With a Rose**

* * *

Friday combat class with Goodwitch. For most it's a great chance to test their skills against their fellow students and learn more ways to shine on the battlefield. For instance, Pyrrha, who had just single handedly taken on Team CRDL in near flawless fashion and even won a surprise, albeit brief, match with Mercury Black. For Ace Wolfblade, it was the last class separating him from his weekend plan.

Ever since Ace started dating Ruby, they had been increasingly happier by the day. But in the entirety of their relationship so far, they had yet to go on an official date together. Sure they had been occupying their time investigating the growing threat to Vale, but with only the weekend remaining before classes resumed, there wasn't much time left and future opportunities could become scarce.

"That is all for today. And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses." Goodwitch said firmly.

The classroom quickly emptied with students eagerly heading to their rooms, the halls filled with chatter of the upcoming dance, leaving AZRE and RWBY the only ones remaining.

"This dance is going to be awesome!" Yang said excitedly picking up her notebook and pencil.

"It was certainly a nice surprise when it was announced." Weiss said in agreement as they all moved into the near empty hallway.

"Well I think we all know who Ace is taking~" Matthew grinned.

Ruby looked to Ace with a smile. Social gathering weren't usually her forte, her keeping to the punch bowl and snack trays to avoid much interaction, but things would be different as long as she was going with Ace.

"Hey at least he has someone to go with." Zweii said.

"You guys will find someone too one day." Ace responded.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean we can't go and enjoy ourselves with friends. Hey Yang, wanna go to the dance with me? Just as friends of course." Matthew asked as they exited the arena.

"Sure Matt. Sounds like a great idea." Yang answered with a smile.

"Sweet. I can't wait to party."

"Hey, Blake!" Sun called as he approached the group. "You uh, doing okay?" Sun asked noting the weary look in the feline Faunus' eyes.

"I'm fine." Blake replied evenly, closing the book she had been reading in slight annoyance.

"So I hear that there's this dance going on this weekend, and it sounds pretty lame, but you and me, I'm thinking, not as lame, huh?" Sun said.

"What?"

"The dance! This weekend! You wanna go, or what?" Sun asked.

"I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought you of all people would get that." Blake growled before storming off.

"Geez, what's her deal?" Dezaryl asked.

"She hasn't slept well in days. She's even more stressed about Torchwick and the White Fang and it's really affecting her." Weiss answered.

"Don't feel bad man. It's not you. It's quite literally her." Zweii said placing his hand on Sun's shoulder.

"Yeah… It was worth a shot though." Sun said glumly.

"She'll come around."

"Still, we should really talk to her about this before she gets any worse." Ruby said sadly.

"Yeah… Hey Ruby, can I uh, ask you something?" Ace questioned with slight nervousness.

"Of course! What's up Ace?" Ruby answered, perking up again.

"Well, we've been dating a while now, but we really haven't had a chance to do anything together so… Would you like to go out on a date tomorrow?" Ace asked.

"Oh Ace! I'd love to!" Ruby said, excitedly hugging her boyfriend.

"Great. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."

"See you then. We're going to go find Blake. See you tomorrow." Ruby said before leaving with her team.

"Hey, good job man! You got anything special planned?" Matthew asked.

"A few things. I need to go prepare some stuff though. Pick up a few things in the city." Ace answered.

"We could go now. We all need to get tuxes for the dance, especially you and Matt since you're actually taking someone." Zweii said.

"That's a good idea. Alright then. To the city!" Ace proclaimed.

"The city!" His team echoed as they walked to the landing pad.

"Hey Dez, I may need you again tomorrow for something… Special I have in mind for Ruby." Ace said.

"Say no more. Consider it done man. What do you have in mind?" The archer asked.

"Well…"

* * *

After spending most of the remaining afternoon in the city, the team returned with everything they needed. After picking colors and getting measured for his tux, Ace had left the remainder of his team to get theirs done while he prepared the date for tomorrow, making stops at a couple of shops before returning to his friends.

By the time he had returned they were already waiting with clothes in hand. Each had picked a black button up vest, with blue ties and detailing that matched their eyes in true AZRE fashion. Sapphire for Ace, Royal for Zweii, Teal for Dezaryl, and Classic for Matthew.

Everything was set for tomorrow and the teens retired to their beds. That was until they heard a knock on their door.

"Hey guys, it's Yang. Can I come in?" The blonde asked from the other side, her voice sounding forlorn.

"Sure. Door is always open for friends." Ace answered.

Yang entered, shutting the door behind her, her usual pep absent.

"What's up Yang?"

"… It's Blake. We tried talking her into going to the dance and taking a break from the investigation but she wouldn't listen." Yang explained.

"Man… She's really hooked on this thing." Dezaryl sighed.

"We just want her to stop and get some rest! After everything we learned it still isn't enough for her! She's going to destroy herself looking for all the answers at once!" Yang roared.

"Yang calm down… You're right. This isn't healthy for her, but we all know she isn't going to stop." Dezaryl said.

"But she needs too! I know what this obsession will do to her if she doesn't stop." Yang stated.

"Yang?" Matthew asked worriedly.

"… I know because I did the same thing trying to learn about my mother, except I didn't just endanger myself, I put Ruby's life on the line as well. If it wasn't for Uncle Qrow, we probably wouldn't be her…" Yang confessed. "She needs to stop before it's too late."

"Well, maybe you're approaching this situation wrong." Zweii said.

"What?" Yang asked confused.

"Blake is being stubborn so asking and persuading her won't be enough. You know that through experience. So show her that you understand how she feels. Tell her what you told us about your mother. Just show her she isn't alone in this."

"Zweii's right. You haven't stopped looking for your mother right?" Dezaryl asked.

"Well yeah but…" Yang started.

"But nothing. You haven't stopped, and neither should Blake. What she should do is change her tactics. You found a way to keep looking without it taking over your life. Blake needs a way to balance her own needs. She doesn't have to stop, but she should at least cool off every now and then."

Yang seemed caught off guard with this suggestion. It was true. While she still looked for leads on her mother, she was didn't let it control her. Blake needed the same freedom. She would get Blake to the dance no matter what, but now she had a new plan to do so.

"Thanks guys. I knew it was a good idea to come see you." Yang said with a renewed smile.

"Yeah. Ace is a great influence on us." Matthew joked.

"Sure is. Night guys." Yang said opening the door. "Oh Wolfie… Ruby's really excited about tomorrow. Just don't try anything funny." Yang warned with a smirk.

"Good night Yang." Ace said with a smile.

The sound of the door gently closing was the last they heard before resting for the day ahead.

* * *

The next morning, Ace awoke with a purpose. It was time to implement his date plan. In truth he was a bit nervous. He had no experience when it came to romance so coming up with a date proved a little more challenging. Even more so because he didn't want to screw it up. He wanted it to be as perfect as could be for Ruby.

After a quick shower and finishing his morning routine, Ace returned to the room to get dressed. As he looked at the single set of clothing he had other than his uniform or his armor he began to realize he was in need of more to wear.

Picking out his black T-shirt and some blue jeans he dressed himself. Once done he moved to his bed, reaching underneath it and pulling out a red bag. A gift for Ruby he had purchased yesterday.

"Going on your date man?" Matthew said sitting up in his bed.

"Yep. Just finished getting ready." Ace answered his friend as he looked himself over in the mirror.

"You nervous?"

"…Kinda. First date and all. I want it to go well."

"You'll be fine. Ruby will love it just because she'll be with you all day." Matthew assured him.

"Yeah. She's sweet like that." Ace smiled.

"Have a good time man. See you when you get back."

"See ya." Ace said leaving the room and heading towards Ruby's.

Upon arrival, Ace knocked on the door letting Ruby know it was time.

"Just a second!" Ruby said from the other side. A short moment later the door was opened. "Good morning Ace."

"Good morning Ruby." Ace greeted. "You ready to go?"

"Yep! I almost couldn't sleep I was so excited." Ruby chirped making Ace laugh a bit. "What's with the bag?" Ruby asked pointing at the object in question.

"First part of the date. I got you something." Ace said handing her the gift.

"How sweet of you." Ruby said reaching into the bag and pulling out a small box.

Ruby's silver orbs grew wide at the contents. Within the box was an elegant rose necklace made of silver, a ruby placed in the center of the flower. The chain was an intricate chain of petal shaped links.

"Ace… This is beautiful but… How did you afford this?" Ruby asked.

"I had some money saved from the time Yang took me to that club she knows. So I used it to get it for you." Ace explained.

"I love it. Thank you so much." Ruby said giving Ace a big kiss. "Help me put it on?"

"Of course." Ace said taking the jewelry and placing it around her neck. "Looks great on you."

Ruby smiled, holding the rose section in her hand.

"Now I wish I had got you something." Ruby said.

"Don't. Every day I have with you is the best gift I could ask for." Ace said hugging the girl from behind. "Besides, today is all about treating you and having a good time."

"You really are the sweetest guy I've ever met." Ruby said with a smile.

"I just do what's in my nature." Ace replied. "Come on. We have much to do today."

"Let's get started then." Ruby said, grabbing Ace's hand in her own, their fingers intertwined.

The couple took the next airship to the city, talking all the while to pass time. It was reminiscent of the first time the pair traveled to the city together. They talked about classes and their friends. The most humorous of the conversations being how Jaune tried to serenade Weiss into going to the dance with him, causing both to laugh hysterically. The conversation to follow was not so upbeat.

"Blake still won't go to the dance. I'm worried about her." Ruby sighed.

"We all are, but I wouldn't worry too much. Yang's going to make sure she's there." Ace said.

"I don't want to force Blake to go, but I also want her to relax a bit."

"Yang can be very persuasive. She'll get her to go of her own free will."

"How do you know?" Ruby asked.

"Yang visited us last night about this very thing. Trust me Ruby. Blake Belladonna will be at that dance in higher spirits."

"I sure hope so."

A few minutes later the airship dropped off its passengers and the couple made their way through the city.

"So what did you have planned first?" Ruby asked.

"Lunch sound good?" Ace responded.

"Food sounds great. What did you have in mind?"

"I wasn't too sure. Pizza okay?"

"I'd love some pizza right now. I know a great place that serves huge slices." Ruby answered.

Ace followed Ruby to the pizzeria. In truth he was disappointed he was leading the way on the date he had planned, but Ruby knew the city better than him so he was partly grateful. Hopefully the rest of the date would make up for it. He paid for both of them, Ruby getting a slice of pepperoni and Ace a slice of meat lovers.

"Wew we goin nesh?" Ruby asked through a mouthful of pizza as the two walked and ate.

"Don't talk with your mouth full. I can't understand you." Ace laughed.

Ruby swallowed and tried again.

"Sorry. I said, where we going next?" Ruby said more clearly.

"I thought we'd walk through the park a bit before your next surprise." Ace answered.

"Next surprise? It sounds like you're trying to spoil me." Ruby giggled before eating the remains of her pizza.

"And why shouldn't I spoil you a little?" Ace asked.

"This is already more than a little Wolfie."

"And I think you deserve every bit of it Rose." Ace countered, blushing faintly at the nickname.

Ruby couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Aww you're blushing. That name really gets you flustered doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it does. But only when it's from you Rose." Ace replied giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Ruby's face became equally as red as Ace's had been with the use of her last name paired with the surprise kiss.

"Now who's flustered?" Ace smirked as they approached the park. Ruby merely smiled shyly as a response to this. "I think it's cuter on you than it is on me." Ace commented with a smile.

The two deposited their trash in a nearby trash bin before entering the park. The park was decently sized with many areas for visitors to enjoy. The smells of the many plants and flora gave the place a pleasant and soothing scent while the trees stood tall to provide shade from the sun. Children were laughing and playing on the playground equipment, carefree and innocent.

It was thanks to the work of the Huntsmen and Huntresses that they could enjoy their days with little worry of the dangers of the Grimm. It gave both Ace and Ruby a warm feeling knowing they were working to keep things that way so they did not.

"Hey Ace! Race you to that bench over there!" Ruby said playfully before sprinting towards it.

"You're on Ruby." Ace replied running after her and trailing behind the laughing girl.

Much to Ruby's surprise, Ace was actually gaining on her and very quickly at that. She had never seen him move this fast before. It wasn't long before he caught up and passed her. Ruby activated her semblance giving her a quick burst of speed, enough to regain the lead and secure her victory on the bench.

"I win~" Ruby teased as Ace sat beside her.

"You little cheater. I totally had that." Ace smiled, ruffling her short hair.

"You were really fast. I wasn't expecting to need my Semblance to help me out." Ruby stated.

"It's probably because I'm not being weighed down by my armor." Ace said.

"Oh yeah. That stuff is heavy, but you run like it doesn't weigh anything on you."

"I've worn it so much moving around in it eventually just became second nature."

"Well I'm glad I can see you more often without it on." Ruby smiled.

Ace wrapped an arm around Ruby and pulled her closer, enjoying the feeling of being with the sweet and loving girl. The one that had helped him take down his barriers with her loving nature. She meant more to him than anything else on this planet. He would do anything for her, if the scar on his back didn't serve as a constant reminder of that already.

"I love you so much Ruby. I don't know what I'd do without you in my life." Ace said.

"I love you too Ace. You make me so happy when I'm around you." Ruby replied resting her head on his shoulder.

"You're always pretty happy Ruby."

"You make me happier."

The two remained like this, lost in each other's company for a moment. Inwardly they wished they could stay like this forever. It just felt so perfect.

"You ready to get going?" Ace asked.

"Nope. I just want to stay here a bit longer." Ruby answered truthfully.

"I agree. It's nice out here, even lovelier because I can share it with you." Ace smiled.

"Yeah." Ruby said, smiling back.

A few minutes later the two reluctantly moved from the bench and began walking to the entrance they came in from.

"So what's this next surprise of yours?" Ruby asked.

"Something I think you'll like very much. First we need to go see some old friends." Ace answered cryptically.

Ace lead Ruby through the city, the pair holding hands the whole time. It drew some attention to them, but mostly just small smiles as people passed them by. Eventually they came to a familiar block with the scent of baked goods drifting around it. Ace stopped them in front of a shop that made Ruby bounce up and down in excitement.

"The Crumbling Moon! Is this the surprise?" Ruby asked.

"Part of it."

"Oh this is great! We get to see Jorge and his family again!"

The two entered seeing Jorge, Teddy, and their grandmother working at the counter as usual.

"Ace! Ruby! It's good to see you two again!" He greeted.

"It's good to see you too Jorge. It's been a while." Ruby said.

"Yes it has. We've been expecting Ace, but we didn't know you would be coming as well." Jorge said.

"Expecting?" Ruby asked in confusion.

"Yeah! He said he'd be visiting today." Teddy answered.

"So what's up guys? Anything new happening with you?" Jorge asked.

"Well, you could say that." Ace smiled.

"Can I tell them?" Ruby asked to which Ace nodded.

"Tell us what?" Jorge asked.

"Ace and I… Are dating now!"

"That's wonderful! Congratulations you two!" Teddy cheered.

"Heh heh heh! I knew you youngins would make a good pair." Jorge's grandmother cackled.

"Thanks." Ruby grinned.

"So that explains the special order Ace placed." Jorge said.

Again Ruby looked confused but Ace simply smiled and sat her down at a table.

"Jorge, the order is back in the kitchen. Would you go fetch it for them dear?" His grandmother asked.

"Yeah sure. Be right back." Jorge replied before disappearing to the kitchen briefly.

When he returned he was holding a large plate of cookies and a glass of milk that he placed in front of Ruby. But these were a little bit different than Ruby's regular chocolate chip cookies. Baked in with the chocolate were pieces of…

"Strawberries!" Ruby exclaimed. "I love strawberries!"

"I know. They're your favorite, with cookies being only your second. So I mixed them so you could have both." Ace said.

"You noticed! Oh thank you Ace! They look delicious." Ruby said staring at the treats, her mouth already watering.

"Well dig in. They're all for you."

Ace didn't need to tell her twice. Ruby quickly picked out a cookie, taking a bite out of it.

"How are they?" Jorge asked as Ruby swallowed.

"These are the best cookies ever… Of all time!" Ruby said before finishing off the reminder of her cookie. She merrily chowed down on cookie after cookie, Ace internally praising himself for coming up with the idea.

"We're glad you like them dear." Jorge's grandmother said sweetly.

"You should make more and sell these. I bet people would really like them." Ruby said, taking a drink from her milk.

"That's a great idea! We could call it the Ruby Special!" Teddy said.

"You know that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea." Jorge said as Ruby polished off the last of the cookies.

"Yum." Ruby said patting her cookie filled tummy. "Thanks for the surprise Ace. It was really good."

"I can't take all the credit. Jorge and them actually mad the cookies after all." Ace said.

"Still, I loved it."

"So are you two out on a date or something?" Teddy asked.

"Yep! Ace and I are spending the day together. He even got me this necklace." Ruby said showing of her first gift.

"My, isn't that a lovely little thing?" Jorge's grandmother said admiring the accessory.

"Jewelry and cookies. Ace must really love you something fierce." Jorge laughed.

"Very much so." Ace replied.

"Got anything else planned there lover boy?"

"Perhaps, but that's for when we get back to Beacon and it should be the best so far." Ace answered smoothly.

"Oh my Dust Ace! What else did you do?" Ruby asked.

"Sorry babe. No spoilers." Ace taunted.

"But I wanna know!" Ruby whined.

"Then we should probably get going. Thanks so much for doing this for us guys." Ace said thanking the bakers.

"Of course dear, it was our pleasure. You youngins are always welcome here." Jorge's grandmother said warmly.

"Here. The payment for the order. You definitely earned it." Ace said pulling out some Lien and handing it to Jorge.

"Thanks very much Ace. You two keep up the good work becoming Hunters."

"Come back soon!" Teddy said.

"We will. Bye everyone!" Ruby said with a wave as she left with Ace.

As they walked back to the landing pad, Ruby pondered what Ace had left up his sleeve for the day. She was quite amazed he put together so much in so short of time. Even Ace said not to, she felt bad she was the one receiving everything and Ace was the only one giving. Next date, she would be sure to fix that.

The two boarded the airship and began the return trip home.

* * *

The day was drawing to a close by the time they arrived back at Beacon, the sun already hanging low, painting the sky in blues, yellows, and oranges. Ace lead Ruby to the final destination of the day. His room. Inside Dezaryl was waiting for them as Ace had requested.

"Hey guys. Welcome back. Have a good time?" The archer asked.

"Hey Dez. Yeah we did, but Ace, what are we doing here in your room? I thought you had one last surprise." Ruby said.

"I do. I want to share a dream with you Ruby." Ace informed.

"A dream?"

Ace nodded.

"Remember back in the beginning of the year when I had my talk with Weiss?"

"Yeah. I remember that. Why do you ask?"

"Well, when I helped her, I didn't do it alone. I had help from Dez and his Semblance. Using a special technique of his, he connected our dream scape. It allowed us to share deeper information with each other."

"That sounds awesome!" Ruby said.

"It's interesting. There's something I want to share with you, but I can only do it while we're linked."

"Okay. Let's do it!" Ruby said.

Ace laid down in his bed, but left a spot next to him for Ruby to lay. Ruby took her place next to him in the bed, bushing slightly.

"Alright you two. I'm going to put you both to sleep and establish the link." Dezaryl informed.

"Will it hurt?" Ruby asked.

"Nah, you'll just get really sleepy really fast. Then you'll wake up, but you won't wake up out here, you'll wake up in the dream scape. Once that happens just follow Ace."

"Okay. I'm ready."

With the okay given, Dezaryl put the pair to sleep, linking them shortly after.

Ruby woke up surrounded in darkness. She could hardly believe she was still asleep. Everything still felt as if she was awake.

"Well hello there beautiful." Ace said as he approached Ruby from across the blackness.

"Hey Ace." Ruby said blushing at the compliment. "So this is the inside of our minds?"

"Kinda. We aren't really anywhere right now. We're in what I like to call the bridge. It's where we 'Wake up' when we enter this state." Ace explained.

"That's kinda confusing." Ruby said as she looked around.

"It took a little explaining from Dez for me to get it too."

"So what can you show me in here?" Ruby asked.

"Lots of things actually. Dreams, memories, everything is here for us to access. You can even dream up new stuff if you really concentrate. It's like a giant playground all in your head."

"So hypothetically, I could see the things you've seen before?"

"Yes you could. But right now, there's only one thing I want to show you." Ace said as a door materialized behind him.

"Whoa, where'd that come from?"

"I brought it here. Your surprise is on the other side." Ace answered opening the door.

Ruby stepped into the brilliant light emanating from the door. It was so bright she had to close her eyes to get through. When she reopened them, she found herself in a huge open plain of flowers.

"Ace, this place is so pretty." Ruby said in awe. "Where are we?"

Ace entered through the door, shutting it behind him, the portal disappearing into the ether.

"Just a little piece of Heaven…" Ace answered moving to a lone tree neighboring the field.

Ruby followed behind him, moving up the hill. Joining him at the top, she was met with the great view of the surrounding area. It was like a place out of the sweetest dreams.

"Ace, I still don't understand. What is this place?" Ruby asked.

"This… This is the place I woke up in… After the accident…" Ace answered.

"Here? Wait, you mean we're in an actual piece of the afterlife?"

"From my memory, yes… But this isn't the entirety of what I wanted to show you."

"What else did you want show me then?" Ruby asked quizzically, unaware of the third presence just behind her.

"He wanted to show you to me." The third person answered.

Ruby instantly locked up at the sound of her voice. Her heart pounded in her chest as she slowly turned around, silver eyes locking with silver eyes.

"Mo-Mommy?" Ruby asked hesitantly looking over the white cloaked woman.

"Hello my little Rose." Summer greeted with a bright smile.

"Is it… Is it really you?" Ruby asked, her voice cracking at the end.

"Yes, it's really me Ruby. I'm your surprise." Summer answered.

Tears began streaming down the younger girl's eyes as she tackled her mother into a hug. Gentle sobs escaped her as Summer embraced her daughter in return.

"I… I missed you so much." Ruby cried.

"I've missed you too sweetheart." Summer said as her own tears began to fall. "You've grown so much baby. You've been drinking your milk, that's for sure." Summer laughed causing Ruby to laugh as well.

"How are you here?"

"Well your thoughtful boyfriend brought me here of course."

"I asked her if she could come see you again. I thought you would like that. Not many people get another chance to see someone they've lost." Ace said.

"Ace… Thank you so much… This means a lot to me that you would do this. It amazes me you _could_ do this." Ruby said.

"It wasn't easy… I'm sure you have a lot you want to talk about with your mom."

Ruby nodded returning her attention to Summer.

"Ruby, I need to tell you something." Summer said.

"What is it Mom?"

"I need to tell you how sorry I am for breaking my promise. I've caused you a great deal of pain and suffering. But I did what I had to do. I hope that you can forgive me." Summer said.

"I do Mom. You were just trying to do your job. I realized that some time ago. I just wish it didn't have to have happened."

"I know. I feel the same. I never meant to leave you, Yang, or Tai like that. But there are some things we just can't control." Summer stated.

"There's so much I want to talk to you about. I don't even know where to begin." Ruby said pausing for a moment. "Mom, when I visit you, can you hear me?" Ruby asked.

"Of course Ruby, and I'm always happy to hear your stories when you visit. Remember your mother is always watching over you." Summer answered.

"I will. But now I can talk to you like this!" Ruby said excitedly.

Summer frowned.

"Ruby… There's something you need to know… This may be the last time we can meet like this for a very long time."

"B-But… Why?" Ruby asked, her excitement draining.

"I'm sorry baby, but we can't simply bend the rules so easily all the time. Even now our time grows short."

"So… So this is it? We can't visit again… Ever?" Ruby said on the verge of tears again.

"I wouldn't say that, but… It will take some time."

Ruby nodded sadly in understanding.

"Hey, it's not so bad. I may not be able to talk to you directly as often as you might wish, but it's better than nothing right?" Summer asked with a smile.

"Yeah… Yeah it is." Ruby said returning the smile.

"So, why don't you and Ace tell me about how you and your friends are doing at Beacon." Summer suggested.

"Okay!" Ruby said.

Ruby happily recounted their many recent exploits. Summer had to contain her laughter as they told her of the food fight that had left the Beacon cafeteria in much disorder. She could only imagine the look on Glynda's face when she saw the mess.

The pair told her about their robotic friend Penny, and even about the little Nevermore, Aria. Summer had to agree with Port in that it was impressive Ace could find such tame creatures of Grimm to befriend.

But as Summer warned, their time together was drawing to a close and she informed Ruby she would soon have to leave her again.

"Ace, thank you for taking care of my daughter and bring her to see me." Summer said.

"I was happy to do it." Ace said, giving Summer a brief hug.

"Mom, I'm glad I got this chance to see you again. I'm going to make you proud and become the best Huntress ever." Ruby said hugging Summer.

"I know you will. You are my daughter after all." Summer laughed. "You and your friends are going to do so many great things Ruby. I know it in my heart."

"Thanks Mom. I love you."

"I love you too." Summer said giving Ruby a kiss on her head. "Good bye my Rose."

"Good bye Mom."

The door that they had entered through returned behind them signaling that it was time for them to go. With one last look, Ruby and Ace left and the door dissipated once more.

The mental link broke and both Ace and Ruby woke up from their sleep. Sitting up, Ruby hugged Ace tightly.

"Thank you so much Ace. That was the sweetest thing anyone could have ever done." Ruby said happily. "And thanks for the best date ever." She added.

"You're most welcome Ruby. Anything for you." Ace replied.

"I should get back to my own room. It's getting late." Ruby said.

"I'll walk you back then." Ace said getting up.

Once back at the other room, Ruby and Ace shared a kiss before saying their good nights.

Ace walked back to his room, lying back down in his bed. The date had gone off without a hitch. Smiling to himself, he closed his eyes, thinking of the fun they had, and the fun that would come tomorrow with the school dance.

* * *

**A/N: So there we have it. I was originally going to finish this in February as a kind of Valentine's chapter despite my previous reasons that kept me from working on it, but we all know that just didn't work out. Regardless, it hopefully won't take another 3 or so months to get the next chapter out.**

**EDIT: 4/5/16 Fixed a few errors I missed. If the story ever updates and nothing new seems to have been added, it's because periodically I will review my work and find typos and fix them.**


	31. Chapter 29

**Dancing The Night Away: The Threat Looming In The Shadows**

* * *

The night of the anticipated Beacon Dance had finally arrived. The many students had dressed in their formal attire and quickly filled the Ballroom. What had once been the site where they had collected before their initiation was now prepared for a much more entertaining night of enjoyment for all.

The décor was fantastic, but that much was to be expected with Weiss and Yang working together to prepare it all for the night of fun. The duo had set out to make things look perfect and they had certainly done their jobs.

The aforementioned blonde was currently stationed at the front podium ushering in the students as they arrived. Yang was dressed in a simple but lovely white dress, accompanied by black heels, a combination she was sure would no doubt turn heads. Hopefully Matthew's would be one of them. After all she had agreed to be his date for the night.

Even more so she hoped that she had convinced her partner to attend. After their discussion, Yang felt as if for once in a while, Blake had actually heard what she had been told. The look in her weary eyes had given Yang hope her words had finally sunken into the stubborn Faunus.

Yang's attention was suddenly drawn to the open doors before her as her baby sister walked in, or rather awkwardly stumbled as she struggled to walk in her black pumps. Despite this, Ruby was truly breathtaking in her dress.

Sticking with her normal color scheme, Ruby wore a red dress with a black sash around her waist. The upper portion of the dress was a dark, semitransparent mesh that spanned from her upper chest to her upper back. The gift necklace form Ace was worn proudly around her neck.

"Ooohh Ruby, you look so beautiful! I'm so proud!" Yang said adoringly at the sight of her sister all dressed up.

"I feel ridiculous." Ruby groaned as she stumbled up to her sister. "I have much greater respect for Weiss for fighting in these ankle breakers."

"Oh don't be that way. You're going to knock Wolfie out with how stunning you are!" Yang said.

"You really think so?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"He won't be able to resist you. But he better make an effort to or I might have to hurt him." Yang grinned.

"Yang…" Ruby sighed.

"I'm just saying. So where is your date anyway?" Yang asked.

"Getting ready with his team I think. They should all be here soon." Ruby answered. "Sooo… Matt."

"What about him?" Yang asked.

"Umm, I don't know. Just that you agreed to be his date is all."

"Well yeah. Matt's a nice guy and he likes to have fun. Plus he's a friend so it's kinda hard not to say yes you know?"

"Yeah, I guess that's fair." Ruby replied smiling.

* * *

Ace and his team exited the dorm building and began to make their way to the ballroom. They were all fully suited up and ready for the night of fun that awaited them. Their leader wore a bright smile at the prospect of spending the dance in the company of Ruby.

Matthew was equally cheerful as he was going to be spending his time with Yang tonight. Not as a couple no, but as two very good friends ready to have fun, and that's all that really mattered to them.

Zweii and Dezaryl, while not taking anyone were just as excited as anyone else. Date or no, they wouldn't let that stop them from enjoying the dance. In the company of all of their friends, it wouldn't be hard.

"You ready to court your lady good buddy?" Matthew said wrapping an arm around the back of Ace's neck.

"Yes Matt, I am. I have been for some time now." Ace said slightly annoyed, moving his friend's arm off of him and dusting off his suit.

"What about you man. Ready for _your_ hot date with Yang?" Dezaryl asked teasingly.

"Oh you know I am." Matthew proclaimed proudly.

"So what possessed you to ask Yang out for the dance anyway?" Zweii asked.

"Why not? She wasn't going with anyone, I wasn't going with anyone. Thought I might as well ask. And it worked out perfectly. You two should have manned up and found someone yourselves." Matthew replied.

"Since when were you such an expert with picking up chicks?" Dezaryl asked sarcastically.

"I'm just saying I have a date while you two don't. Don't be jealous of me for making an effort."

"I'm with Matt on this one guys." Ace said.

"Hey, don't act like you had to strain yourself there Ace. You already had a sure thing with Ruby from the start." Zweii grinned.

"Hey if Ace was able to get a girl, there's no reason you two couldn't as well." Matthew said resting his hands behind his head.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Ace asked, glaring at his friend.

"Absolutely nothing!" Matthew said quickly, raising his hands in defense.

"Sure didn't sound like nothing." Ace growled.

"Aww, c'mon. Any girl would be lucky to be with you, and the lucky winner is Ruby."

"I'm nothing special." Ace replied.

"You're special to Ruby. That's all that counts. Now come on! Let's not keep everybody waiting." Zweii said.

The group moved on until they ran into a familiar monkey Faunus going to war with his tie.

"Stupid… Neck trap… Ugh!" Sun grunted in frustration at the uncomfortable accessory.

"Closed jacket, and a tie? Who are you and what have you done with Sun?" Ace jested.

"What about you? Your armor at the cleaners?" Sun quipped back.

"Touché." Ace chuckled.

"I knew you'd look better in a tie." Came Blake's voice from behind the group.

The feline Faunus was wearing a dark purple dress, and affixed in her hair was a blue bow.

"Blake, you're here. So you decided to come after all." Zweii said.

"Yes well, my partner is very persuasive, and stubborn." Blake said giving a small smile.

"That's one thing you two have in common then." Dezaryl said.

"Hey lay off of her man." Sun said coming to Blake's defense.

"No, he's right. I wasn't thinking clearly and kept ignoring your advice, even though it was in my best interest. I'm sorry." Blake apologized.

"Nah don't worry about it. We're all concerned about recent events. But we're going to get through it. But instead of worrying too much on the future let's just enjoy the present." Matthew said sagely.

"Agreed." Blake said with a nod.

"So does this mean we're going together?" Sun asked.

"Yes Sun, but I promised someone else my first dance. Matthew, I'm going to have to borrow you're date. I hope you don't mind too much." Blake replied.

"Of course not." Matthew grinned. "Shall we?"

"Let us indeed." Ace said.

Sun and Blake took the lead moving slightly ahead of AZRE and entering the Ballroom. The blue team of Beacon made their entrance seconds later, Ace and Matthew setting their gaze upon their dates on arrival.

For Ace, it was if he had forgotten how to breathe. Never had he seen Ruby in something so spectacular, so gorgeous, so… Revealing. While the dress kept her decency intact, it was still dangerously much more skin then he was used to seeing from the young girl. The way it hugged her modest, petite form left him reeling.

Ruby, seeing Ace's reaction to her attire, blushed faintly as she smiled shyly, head directed towards the ground, but her silver eyes looking up past her bangs.

"Go get her Wolfie." Zweii chuckled, patting Ace on the back before moving past his gawking leader.

Ace glared at his partner, snapped out of his stupor at the mention of that accursed nickname. Only Ruby could call him that without it striking a nerve. When she said it, it was endearing. Anyone else and it was just annoying.

Matthew greeted Yang with a curt bow.

"My lady of the evening." He said moving his arms to point behind him and towards Blake. "Your first dance partner has arrived."

Yang put a hand to her mouth and giggled.

"Thank you Matt." Yang said, looking him and the rest of his team over. "You all look great."

"Don't you mean awesome? I mean, we look like a sick group of secret agents or something to me." Matthew joked.

Blake approached Yang, amber eyes meeting gentle lilac.

"You look great Blake." Yang smiled.

"As do you…" Blake said. "Thank you for putting up with my poor behavior lately, and for convincing me to take a break."

Yang smiled as she pulled the Faunus into a hug.

"That's what friends do Blake." Yang said as music began to play from the stereo systems. "May I have this dance?"

"You may." Blake chuckled, her blonde partner leading them to the dance floor.

"Don't go forgetting about us now!" Matthew called as he and Sun followed their dates.

"And what are we supposed to do?" Zweii scoffed, watching the four leave.

"Have fun and look awesome doing it." Dezaryl answered with a wide grin. "Let's leave the love birds to themselves for a bit and grab some punch." The archer said before meandering towards the opposite side of the room.

"Don't do anything Yang would kill ya for while we're gone." Zweii laughed, following Dezaryl.

Ace rolled his eyes at the comment before an awkward cough from Ruby drew his attention.

"You uh, look very nice in a suit." Ruby said, making conversation.

"Oh, uh, thanks." Ace replied with a faint blush tinting his cheeks. "You look very beautiful tonight Ruby."

"You really think so?" Ruby asked timidly.

"Ruby, you put the very jewel you were named after to shame. You're simply radiant." Ace answered, his words making Ruby's heart flutter.

"Dust… When did you start having such a way with words?" Ruby asked.

"I guess around the time I started dating you my Rose." Ace replied taking Ruby's hand in his and giving it a gentle kiss. "Shall we join the others on the dance floor?"

"Sure, but fair warning, I'm not the best dancer, especially in heels." Ruby answered.

"That's alright. I'm not a big dancer either. But as long as we're having fun, it doesn't really matter right?"

"Yeah!"

The couple moved to the dance floor just as the first dance was ending. Blake and Yang danced as Sun and Matthew cheered them on. As the music came to an end so did their dance, with Yang spinning her partner around before the pair curtsy to the other and their respective dates taking them by the hand.

Ace and Ruby joined up just in time for the lights to dim and the next song to begin playing. The next dance was a romantic slow dance, the music soft and slow.

Ruby smiled nervously at Ace, feeling ill prepared for the dance while wearing her heels. Ace gave a reassuring smile back, gently taking her hand.

"Remember, just have fun." Ace said, moving his right hand to rest upon Ruby's waist.

Ruby nodded and moved her free hand to Ace's upper arm. The two began to move to the music until Ruby began struggling to remain balanced while dancing in her heels. It was just as she had feared.

Ace held the crimsonette up, helping her to regain her balance.

"Sorry… I told you I wasn't very good…" Ruby said glumly, feeling as she was quickly killing the fun night not only for herself but also for Ace.

"Ruby its fine." Ace said warmly. "Why don't we try again?"

Again the couple began to dance, and again Ruby began to stumble, her focus locked on her shaking legs.

"Ruby…" Ace said drawing her attention. "Don't look at your feet. Don't worry about falling. Just keep your beautiful eyes on me, and move." Ace instructed.

"Okay." Ruby nodded, doing as she was told.

The third time was the charm as the two were soon swaying and moving to the music effortlessly. Ruby, now concentrated on her boyfriend's face, allowed Ace to help guide her through the movements that she had been tripping up on and remained stable in her foot work.

"See? Nothing to it." Ace grinned.

"But… How did that work?" Ruby asked, baffled.

"You were so focused on not messing up, you were stressing yourself out even more. I just moved your attention away from that."

"Smarty pants." Ruby smiled.

The duo continued dancing, earning the attention of a few of their friends. Dezaryl and Zweii fist bumped, drinking from their punch as they watched.

Yang was practically beaming at how fast Ruby was growing up. It seemed like only yesterday that Ruby would have been the awkward wall flower standing alone. Now she was dressed up and dancing with her boyfriend, in heels to boot.

Matthew caught her looking and glanced over to see what had her so happy. He smiled as his best friend danced with Ruby, the girl that stole Ace's heart.

"It's a great sight isn't?" Matthew asked the blonde as they danced.

"Yeah. You got that right." Yang answered contently.

As the music faded, Ace and Ruby were left standing, Ruby's head rested on Ace's chest, a smile gracing her lips as Ace gave a quick kiss to the top of the shorter girl's head.

"That was actually pretty fun." Ruby said as more music began to play.

"Wanna keep going then?" Ace asked.

"Absolutely." Ruby answered.

* * *

As their friends continued to dance, Zweii and Dezaryl chatted near the punch bowl.

"It's a shame we have to go back to the grind after tonight." The archer commented.

"Yeah, but the fun can't last forever." Zweii shrugged.

"Guess that's true…"

"Something on your mind my friend?" Zweii asked.

"I don't know… I've just kinda been thinking." Dezaryl answered.

"What about?"

"What haven't I been thinking about? Torchwick, the White Fang… I just have this feeling you know?"

"Feeling like something really bad is about to hit at any moment?"

"Exactly. You heard what Ace told us. Ruby's mother said that the kingdoms were in huge trouble. That kind of news just puts my nerves on edge."

"It's not comforting that's for sure. But that's why we're working to stop whatever's going on. Ace and the girls have already been investigating and I'm sure it won't be long before we get to the bottom of it."

"And bust some heads." Dezaryl added.

"Ha, we have been missing most of the action lately haven't we?" Zweii laughed.

"Can't say we've remained inactive though. My arm still hurts from our showdown with Fox and Yatsuhashi." Dezaryl grinned rotating his shoulder.

"That fight was still pretty awesome. Gave us a chance to work with different partners too." Zweii pointed out. "Speaking of partners, yours has been doing a lot of extra studying lately."

"Yeah. Never thought we'd see the day."

"What's he studying anyway? He does relatively well in class as far as I know."

"Dunno, but maybe it has something to do with the weapon crafting text books he's been reading up on."

"Oh right. Matt doesn't know much when it comes to weapon forging."

"Guess he's trying to learn to do it for himself, though with that hammer of his I can't see why." Dezaryl said as he refilled his cup with more punch.

It was then Jaune walked up to fill one of his own.

"Hey guys. Hanging by the punch bowl too huh?"

"For now yeah, pretty much." Dezaryl answered. "Might do some dancing in a bit though."

"By yourself?" Jaune asked.

"No, with our friends Jaune."

"Oh right. That makes sense."

"So I take it Weiss didn't come with you either huh?" Zweii asked.

"Yeah but it's okay. She's probably having the time of her life with Neptune anyway…" Jaune sighed.

"Uh Jaune? Weiss and Neptune didn't come together. Weiss is over there…" Zweii said pointing to Weiss who was sitting at a table alone, staring at wilted white rose.

"And Neptune is over there…" Dezaryl said pointing to the blue haired teen who was talking with his teammates Sage and Scarlet.

Jaune was dumbfounded. Neptune had turned down Weiss Schnee. Jaune glared daggers at Neptune, his agitation and anger rising.

"I'm going to go give him a piece of my mind." Jaune growled.

"I wouldn't bother right now. It looks like you have bigger problems." Zweii said pointing at Pyrrha, who looked very dejected as she made her way up the stairs and to the balcony.

"Pyrrha…" Jaune said quietly.

"You should go talk to her Jaune. Your partner needs you." Dezaryl said.

"Right. I'll be back in a little bit guys." Jaune said, discarding his drink and following after Pyrrha.

"… He's so clueless." Zweii sighed.

"Tell me about it. He chases Weiss when Pyrrha is right there waiting for him." Dezaryl replied.

"She literally could not make it any more obvious than just flat out telling him."

Minutes later Jaune returned as promised.

"So how'd it go?" Dezaryl asked.

"Well I found out that Weiss isn't the only girl that came alone tonight." Jaune answered. "Oh and I had a little talk with Neptune. Turns out he turned down Weiss because he was embarrassed he couldn't dance. Who knew?"

"Figured as much with Pyrrha. She say anything about it?" Zweii asked.

"She said no one even tried to ask her."

"You could have asked yourself."

"I realize this now…"

"Let me ask you something. Why do you try going after Weiss when she shuts you down every time but you never bother asking Pyrrha?" Dezaryl asked.

"I guess because I always thought Pyrrha was out of my league." Jaune answered truthfully.

"So the heiress to the world's largest Dust Company is so much closer?" Zweii scoffed.

"Yeah… I mean… No, I guess not…"

"Look man, we're not saying that you _can't_ try to swoon the Ice Queen, but you do have other options you know." Dezaryl said.

"I'll try to keep that in mind when I'm picking out my dress." Jaune said.

"Wait your what now?"

"I kinda told Pyrrha that if she didn't have anyone ask her to the dance that I would wear a dress." Jaune admitted.

"Dude, if you go through with this, you officially will be the bravest man at this dance tonight."

"An Arc never goes back on their word." Jaune said with a hint of amusement.

"Then we salute you my friend." Zweii said as he and Dezaryl did mock military salute.

"Bye guys." Jaune said before moving out of the building.

"This is going to be great." Zweii snickered.

"I'm so glad I brought my scroll tonight." Dezaryl smirked pulling out the device.

"You're evil."

"You'd do it too and you know it." The archer countered

"Oh I know I would but that doesn't make it any less criminal." The knight laughed.

* * *

Ace and Ruby moved to the side after their third successful round of dancing. As fun as it was, they both wanted to rest, away from the sea of people that had been surrounding them for a bit.

Apparently Matthew and Yang had the same idea and joined up with them.

"Hey guys. You been enjoying yourselves?" Yang asked.

"As long as Ruby's around I'm always having fun." Ace answered. "What about you?"

"It's been pretty fun. Matt's a decent dancer." Yang answered.

"That's because between the two of us, he's had more experience." Ace chuckled.

"You know I like to party. And don't act like you're not good either. We saw you two dancing. Actually a lot of people did to be honest."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"You didn't know? During the slow dance, a lot of people stopped to watch you two. People were saying how cute you two were." Yang explained.

"They must have been paying attention to each other too much to notice." Matthew laughed.

"Surprisingly he's not wrong there." Ace said.

"It's a shame we go back to classes tomorrow. This night has been too much fun." Yang said.

"Maybe it won't be so bad. After a night like this, we might have gotten just enough of a break to be ready for anything that comes our way." Ruby said.

Suddenly the other students began laughing and pointing at something, or rather someone, in the crowd.

When the group discovered that someone was none other than Jaune Arc in a dress, they were shocked.

"Okay… Maybe not anything." Ruby gawked.

"Gotta say, I did not see that coming…" Ace commented.

Jaune as well as the rest of his team began dancing as everyone around them spectated. It was amazing how in synch they were with every move.

"JNPR has some moves, I'll give them that." Matthew grinned as he watched.

Soon their spontaneous dance ended, the entire student body applauding them.

"We're going to go back out and dance some more. You guys coming?" Yang asked.

"I don't know. I think I'm pretty much danced out for the night." Ruby said.

"I'm with Ruby. You guys go on ahead." Ace said.

"Suit yourselves. Come on Matty. Let's have some fun." Yang said leading the boy back onto the dance floor.

"So what do we do now?" Ruby asked.

"Well I don't know about you, but it's getting a bit stuffy in here. Wanna head outside for some fresh air under the stars?" Ace asked.

"That sounds like a great idea." Ruby smiled.

The couple moved through the crowd until they were outside the front doors, the cool night air refreshing them both from the hot, stale air from the ballroom.

"Did you have a good time tonight?" Ace asked.

"Well yeah. I got to spend it with you." Ruby said sweetly.

"Ditto." Ace said smiling as they looked to the star filled sky.

As they gazed over the buildings around them, Ruby caught sight of a figure running on the roof tops.

"Look there." Ruby said pointing the figure out.

"What in Remnant do you think they're up to?" Ace asked.

"I don't know, but they're heading for the CTT. We should probably check it out just to be safe." Ruby said moving to follow after the mysterious figure.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Ace said following behind.

As they approached the Cross Continental Transmit tower they spied an Atlas soldier, sprawled out on the ground.

"Oh no…" Ruby gasped.

Ace approached the man to see what damage had been done.

"Well he's still breathing. He must have been knocked unconscious." Ace informed Ruby.

"I'll give you one guess on who did it." Ruby said pulling out her scroll and calling her locker to their location.

"You're going to go after them?" Ace asked.

"Yeah." Ruby answered pulling Crescent Rose from her locker.

"Alright. I'm going to go back and let someone know what's going on."

"Good idea."

"Be careful Ruby. I'll be as fast as I can." Ace said sprinting off.

After a few minutes of running, Ace neared the Ballroom. As he did he noticed General Ironwood coming out. Ironwood noticed him as well and called to him.

"You there. State your name and business being out here." Ironwood ordered.

"Uh Ace Wolfblade, sir, and I need your help." Ace answered.

"How so?" The general asked skeptically.

"I have reason to believe someone is about to attack the CTT." Ace replied.

"What!? Are you sure!?" Ironwood roared.

"Almost positive."

"How do you know this?"

"Me and my date stepped out for some air when we spotted someone heading over there. When we went to investigate, we found one of your soldiers unconscious." Ace explained.

"Show me. Quickly!" Ironwood ordered following Ace to the tower.

Ace stopped by the guard, showing just as he had said to Ironwood.

"This is unacceptable…" Ironwood growled. "You said you were with someone else. Where is she?"

"She chased the figure inside." Ace answered.

"Then let's not waste any more time out here."

A quick elevator ride later and they found Ruby. Around her were impact zones and scorch marks. The signs of a battle. The only problem was she was alone.

"Now you're going to- W-Wait! Where'd she go?" Ruby asked looking around frantically.

"Ruby. What's going on? What happened? Did you find the intruder?" Ace asked.

"Yeah! She was right here, and we were fighting, and I heard you coming so I turned to see, but when I looked back she was… Gone." Ruby explained. "She was so strong… I failed…"

"No Ruby, you did your best. The important thing is you're okay." Ace said hugging the girl.

"Damn… We were too late." Ironwood swore looking at computer screens. "There's nothing more we can do here. Even so I applaud you for your efforts Mr. Wolfblade and Miss…"

"Ruby Rose." Ruby finished, introducing herself.

"Thank you. As I was saying, I expect to see you both, tomorrow morning in Ozpin's office. You will brief us more thoroughly there. Do not speak of this to anyone. We don't need everyone in a panic because of this."

"Oh uh, yes sir." Ruby said.

"Very good. You're free to return to your dance now." Ironwood said turning and leaving promptly.

"That could have gone better." Ruby sighed.

"It also could have gone much worse." Ace countered. "C'mon, let's get back to the others.

The two teens began the walk back in silence. The next move against them had been made and they had been powerless to prevent it. They could only hope Ozpin would know what to do from here.

* * *

"Ruby…" Ace sighed as the elevator stopped.

"Yeah?" Ruby asked, the elevator door opening and closing shortly after.

"Why did you press all of the buttons?" Ace asked as they began moving again.

"Oh… That…"

"Ruby what's wrong?"

"I'm just a bit nervous."

"Still thinking about last night?"

"Yeah…"

"It'll be okay. We'll tell Ozpin and Ironwood what we can, and they'll decide what to do. Everything's going to be fine."

"I hope so…" Ruby said as the elevator finally reached Ozpin's office.

"You may enter." Ozpin's voice called through the elevator doors.

Ace and Ruby stepped out and into the office, finding Goodwitch, Ironwood, and the headmaster himself waiting for them.

"Ah, you've both arrived. Thank you for coming." Ozpin greeted.

"Of course sir." Ace replied.

"How are the two of you doing since last night?" Glynda asked.

"A little disappointed we couldn't catch the intruder, but otherwise fine." Ace answered.

"What you two did was very admirable. You showed great courage when faced with a threat and handled it to the best of your abilities. Marks of true Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"Thank you General Ironwood." Ace and Ruby said in unison.

"Now then, Ironwood has informed us to the extent of his knowledge what had transpired last night, but we were hoping you two might be able to shed some light onto anything else we should know about." Ozpin explained.

"Ruby. The woman that you saw. Did she look familiar to either of you? Were there any others aiding her at the time?" Glynda asked.

"Not really. She hid her appearance too much to really get a good look at her. She didn't say anything either. I do know she fought with glass, and I think some fire. I don't know for sure but her clothes lit up with an orange glow." Ruby said.

"That sounds reminiscent of the woman I encountered when we met Ruby." Glynda said turning to Ozpin.

"Wait, you're saying she might be working with Torchwick and the White Fang?" Ruby asked.

"We cannot say for certain but from what you have told us, it's definitely a strong possibility. We'll need more evidence to confirm." Ozpin said.

"Well actually, she may have mentioned something about a secret hideout, southwest of the Kingdom or something!" Ruby quickly blurted.

"But I thought you said she never…" Glynda said before being cut off by Ozpin.

"Ace, do you have anything to add? Anything at all?" The headmaster asked.

"No sir. I've never encountered anyone that matches Ruby's description. I'm sorry I couldn't be of any more help." Ace answered.

"That's quite alright. If that's the case then I believe our meeting is concluded. You may return to your teams."

"Yes sir."

"And please, do not inform anyone of this matter. We'd like to keep this quite if at all possible." Ozpin added.

The two nodded and left via the elevator.

"Well there we have it. We send as many troops as we can to the southeast, find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way!" Ironwood proclaimed.

"Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!?" Glynda scolded, clearly frustrated with the situation.

"She's right." Ozpin said in agreement. "As much as I too would love to end this situation once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale. Beyond Beacon. And if this truly is part of some master plan for which we know not the final move, we mustn't be so bold. Nor can we risk the spread of panic."

"You can't seriously be telling me that your plan is to hold the defenses, and wait for things to get even more out of hand!

"It is not!" Ozpin shouted rising from his chair. "You're a general, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag bearers, or the scouts?"

Ironwood crossed his arms, defeated. He knew the answer, even if he didn't like it.

"How do we know that these children will even be able to accomplish what you have planned? I've read their files, including what little I could of Wolfblade's, and I can't say I'm entirely convinced. Which reminds me, why of all the students here is his the only file you have so carefully encrypted? What makes him so special you've all but blacked out his file?" Ironwood asked.

"Wolfblade possesses knowledge unique to him and him alone. Information that may prove deadly if it falls into the wrong hands. Not even I have full understanding of the things he knows." Ozpin answered.

"You must be joking. What kind of information?"

"I'm sorry James, but that information is restricted, even from you."

"Oh come on Oz." Ironwood groaned.

Ozpin smiled at his sulking friend.

"You have your secrets and I have mine. Surely you can agree with that."

* * *

Ace and Ruby arrived back at Team RWBY's dorm room after they had left the headmaster's office. As soon as Ruby opened the door, they were greeted by their combined teams waiting for them.

"So… What happened last night?" Yang asked the two.

"Not really supposed to talk about it." Ace said.

"When has that stopped us before?" Matthew asked.

"I know. Just making sure you know how badly what we're about to tell you stays between us."

Ace and Ruby entered the room and began to explain in detail what had happened with the intruder and the meeting with Ozpin and Ironwood.

"And now we're here." Ruby concluded.

"That was exceptionally risky." Weiss commented.

"Question!" Matthew shouted. "Why didn't you use your scroll to call us? We could have helped."

"One, I didn't have my scroll on me. Two you didn't have your scrolls either. Dez was the one that brought his scroll to the dance since ours were charging. Three it wouldn't have mattered. By the time you guys would have got there it would have already been too late." Ace answered.

"I think given the situation, they handled it in the most appropriate way." Blake stated.

"Minus the 'not catching the bad guy' part." Ruby sighed.

"Don't sweat it sis. We'll catch them all eventually. For now though, who wants to open mail from Dad!?" Yang asked pulling out a cylindrical package.

"Oh, oh, oh, what is it? What is it? Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Chill Ruby. I don't know what it is yet. I was waiting for you before opening it." Yang laughed, holding the package out of Ruby's reach.

The bottom of the canister fell out and something black and furry dropped to the ground. The teams surrounded it trying to figure out what it was. The object began to shake before popping out to its full form. A black and white corgi.

Ruby and Yang looked very excited while the others were speechless as to what they just saw.

"Zwei!" Ruby cheered excitedly.

"What Ruby?" Zweii asked.

Ruby and Yang paused for a moment, looking at each other before laughing hysterically.

"What? What's so funny?" Zweii asked.

"Just that we just realized a small coincidence we didn't even think of." Yang chuckled.

"Zweii, this is our dog. His name is also Zwei, but it's spelt with only one 'I' and not two." Ruby explained.

"You furry little name thief." Zweii said giving half a smile to the canine.

Zwei barked, happily wagging his tail at the knight.

"Aww, your great friends already. You have something in common too." Yang said.

"It's Zweimageddon up in here!" Matthew cheered.

"Wait a minute. Your dad sent you a dog?" Blake said with slight fear in her question.

"Through the mail no less?" Weiss added.

"Yep! Don't worry. He does things like that all the time." Yang answered.

"That's awesome." Dezaryl commented.

"Do you mean to tell me this mangy… Drooling… Mutt, is going to wiv wif us foweva? "Weiss asked, her speech devolving to cutie talk. "Yes he is! Yes he is! Oh he's so adorable!"

"Keep it away from my stuff… And me." Blake said from atop Ruby's bed.

"What's the matter Blake? It's just a little dog? You can't tell me you're… Afraid… Oh my Dust…" Matthew trailed off before laughing. "The cat in you is so real right now!"

"Yes, I know. The irony is not lost on me…" Blake deadpanned.

_"__Will all first year students please report to the amphitheater?"_ Glynda called over the intercom.

"Oh yeah, it's mission time." Dezaryl noted.

"What? But we can't just leave poor Zwei here alone for a week." Weiss whined.

"Oh hey look a letter from Dad." Yang said picking a note from the package. "Dear kids, I have important work to do off the island so I'm sending Zwei for you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need while he stays. Love you both- Taiyang" Yang read.

She turned the canister over and a flood of canned dog food spilled out completely surrounding the small corgi.

"And what is he supposed to do with all of that?" Weiss asked before a can opener fell onto the pile.

"Welp, guess that oughta do it." Yang said discarding the canister.

"Wait your dog can use the can opener?" Ace asked.

Yang answered with a wink.

"Well guys and girls. I think it's time to move out." Yang said before leading her team out the door.

"You girls are going to try to get a mission in the Southeast correct?" Zweii asked.

"That's the plan. Whatever's going on over there, we need to investigate it. You guys should try to do the same if at all possible." Weiss suggested.

"We'll certainly try." Ace said following after Blake, his team in tow. "Ruby, you coming?"

"Yep! Go on ahead. I'll meet you all there." Ruby answered looking at Zwei with a sneaky grin.

* * *

The amphitheater was packed with students, chatting amongst themselves. The students were a collection consisting of teams and students from all over Remnant. Ruby rejoined her team, who were standing with JNPR and AZRE. With her she brought a Beacon backpack that seemed to move every so often.

"Quiet! Quiet please. Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin." Glynda informed, silencing the chatter.

The platinum blonde stepped away from the microphone so Ozpin could take his place.

"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day."

"Hey Ace, did you and your team's families follow that trend?" Ruby asked.

"Kinda. They followed the trend using our middle names, instead of first or last." Ace answered.

"Really? What are they?" Ruby asked.

"You guys feel comfortable answering that?" Ace asked his team.

"Doesn't bother me." Zweii answered.

"Me neither." Matthew replied.

"Same." Dezaryl added.

"Okay then. My full name is Ace Schwarz Wolfblade." Ace said.

"Did you perchance have family from Atlas?" Weiss asked.

"My ancestors. My third great grandfather and grandmother originated from separate areas within Atlas before moving to Vale after they married. So I do have Atlesian blood but not much." Ace explained.

"As for myself, my full name is Zweii Regiis Hyacinthinis Dragos." Zweii said.

"That's not an Atlesian dialect I'm familiar with…" Weiss mused.

"That's because it's one not commonly known or even spoken anymore, predating most forms of language. My family holds ancestral ties to it and still practices it to keep it from fading away entirely." Zweii explained proudly.

"Okay, so what's yours?" Blake asked Dezaryl.

"Dezaryl Saidhean Ravenhawk." The teen answered.

"And my full name is Matthew Stehlen Erthanos, and before you ask Weiss, yes I too have Atlasian ancestors." Matthew said.

"It's honestly not that uncommon seeing as many families moved from Atlas to Vale to seek out new opportunities for themselves." Blake chimed in.

"We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." Ozpin said concluding his speech.

"This is just the chance we needed! We shadow a Huntsman or Huntress working in the southeast, and we find were Torchwick and the White Fang are hiding!" Ruby said excitedly.

"I suggest looking under search and destroy." Weiss said as they walked to the holographic mission board.

"Let's see… Oh! Here we go! Quadrant 5! Grimm extermination."

"Sounds perfect! Let's take it." Yang said.

"Uh oh… It's the only mission here in that area. Meaning…" Ruby trailed off looking at AZRE.

"We can't go with you." Ace finished. "Sorry Ruby."

"It's not your fault."

"Man I wanted to beat up some baddies." Matthew whined.

"Stop complaining. We'll just get an extermination mission elsewhere if you're itching for a fight." Zweii stated.

Ruby selected the mission, entering their team name to register it to her team. Her face fell when the request was denied.

"Of all the rotten luck." Weiss sighed.

"Well we can't just let an opportunity like this slip away. Any other ideas?" Blake asked.

"We could always try mailing ourselves." Ruby half-heartedly suggested.

"That would be an option but the cost of shipping would be a tad high I'm afraid." Ozpin said walking up.

"Professor Ozpin! Why can't we take this mission?" Ruby asked.

"The mission was deemed unsuited for first years due to the high concentration of Grimm residing in the area. We wouldn't want another unfortunate mishap like last semester now would we?" Ozpin asked looking to Ace. "But as it is, I have a feeling you and your team have your hearts set on this particular mission and if I were to deny you of it, you'd still end up there anyway." Ozpin smirked.

"Professor… We…" Ruby began.

"I'm still curious how you all found yourself at the docks last semester. I'm interested to know how you really learned about a hideout in the southeast. And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club some time ago…" Ozpin listed, well aware of their antics.

"Um... well..."

"I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for. So how about this? Instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?" Ozpin said clearing Ruby's team for the mission.

"We won't let you down. Thank you, professor."

"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far. But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon, if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck." Ozpin said.

"Well guys, I guess we should pick our job as well." Ace said looking at the board. "Looks like Grimm need to be cleared from Forever Fall. Let's just take that one."

"Sounds good. I've kinda wanted to go back there anyway." Matthew stated.

Ace entered his team into the mission board, but like Ruby's first attempt was denied.

"Well that's… Weird." Ace said looking at his scroll.

"What is it? We not allowed to take this mission either?" Zweii asked.

"Weirder. Apparently we're not cleared to take any of the listed missions." Ace replied.

"That is because I have a special mission set aside just for you and your team specifically." Ozpin said walking up to them.

"Headmaster?"

"And it just so happens to be near where Miss Rose's team is heading. Imagine that." Ozpin said rolling his eyes playfully.

Ace and the gang looked at each other ecstatically.

"So what did you have in mind?" Ace asked with a grin.

"You and your Huntress will be scouting and surveying a particular area that has been reported to have high class Grimm sighted. It is a simple reconnaissance mission but if the situation calls for it, action may be needed to take out any potential threats." Ozpin informed.

"And just who are we supposed to be shadowing on this mission?" Zweii asked.

"Oh, someone you're already acquainted with. You know her as…"

* * *

"Professor Goodwitch!?" AZRE shouted in surprise as the platinum blonde adjusted her glasses.

"I hope you four are up to the task. Come, we haven't a moment to lose." Glynda said moving to the air ship.

Shrugging at one another, Ace, Zweii, and Dezaryl followed as instructed.

"… Is it too late to back out?" Matthew moaned, trudging behind the rest of his team.

* * *

**A/N: Well it took some time but I finally managed to get this chapter completed on my off time from work. And I know, I made this one quiet lengthy despite what I said about writing smaller chapters. Then again I say a lot of things.**

**I kinda have this head canon that Atlas is much like Europe for whatever reason. Probably because of Weiss and her family being from there. I hope I'm not to far off base but with how the show has been going, you never know for sure about a lot of things.**

**For those of you curious but not eager to go searching for the answers yourselves, fret not, I'm leaving the translations for each of AZRE's newly revealed middle names below.**

**We have one more chapter to go before Canon Season 2 draws to an end. That said I want to explain my future plan for this story. Even before Season 3 of RWBY was released I had already planned many events that I wanted to happen later on in the fic and ultimately going in a much different direction than what has been laid out by Monty. That's not changing in the slightest. It's high time I relied much less on Canon and much more in my own original thoughts and ideas and trust me, if I had to stick to Canon, these events would just be down right impossible and that's just no fun. Seriously, you'll see what I mean when I start getting into them. So yeah, expect many changes as I continue this project my way with my own rules.**

**Schwarz- In German, it translates to Black. Ace is pretty found of the color.**

**Regiis ****Hyacinthinis- Latin, translating to "Royal Blue". Oh btw, LATIN IS HARD! X|**

**Saidhean- Scottish Gaelic, translating to Cyan. Dezaryl is actually associated with Teal, but as the characters are based off myself and my friends, I tried to keep their ancestral heritage accurate as well , minus Zweii. Turns out there's no real word for Teal, but Cyan is close enough, being a lighter shade of Teal.**

**Stehlen- German, meaning Steel. So basically Metallic Gray or Silver in coloring.**


	32. Chapter 30

**Once Now Onto The Breach: Stop The Grimm Invasion**

* * *

The Bullhead's engines roared as it flew over open terrain. Beacon, and even Vale itself, were far behind and the vast cityscape was replaced with plains, fields, and forest, the expansive areas of green foliage resting hundreds of feet below the VTOL airship.

It had been over half an hour since AZRE bid their friends farewell and begun their journey to their mission location. Since then the team had been preoccupying themselves during the trip.

Ace had been sitting carefully with his legs hanging out the open side of the aircraft watching the world pass underneath them from a high. After he was content he had seen enough he positioned himself back against the metal wall and closed his eyes for some rest.

Zweii, using the whetstone Ace had gifted him, was happy sharpening the edges of his zweihander and making sure it was prepared for combat. The last thing he wanted was to go into battle with a dull blade.

Dezaryl went through his various ammos, counting arrows and sorting them by type. While the arrows made for him were reliable, so too were his own. The Dust tipped arrows had served him well in the past and an array of rounds definitely wouldn't hurt.

Matthew passed time tapping away at the game on his scroll. Once in the field, he knew there would be no time for games so he had decided to quench his thirst for his digital entertainment before then.

Glynda observed her students passively. She surely thought these children capable but they were playing a dangerous game getting involved in something that even she and the other professors knew not the endgame. Even Ironwood was on edge and his concern of their abilities was a valid one. She was reminded of the discussion held that very morning after the dance and more importantly, the infiltration of the CTT.

* * *

"Oh come on Oz."

"You have your secrets and I have mine. Surely you can agree with that."

"I can but Oz… Seriously. What the boy knows. Is it really that dangerous?" Ironwood asked.

"It's not something our enemies should get a hold of that's for sure." Ozpin said folding his hands. "We are allies James, make no mistake, but for now this information is best kept to Beacon while yours are kept with you and your troops. If we are compromised, it's best if we're both not holding all the cards. I want tell you. It's actually quite astounding and in time I will."

"I look forward to it. I think I'll take my leave now. The Vytal Festival is fast approaching and I have students to prepare for victory." Ironwood stated.

"We'll see about that. If you still have to prepare then I can't say your odds are any better than mine." Ozpin quipped.

Ironwood chuckled, walking to the elevator and departing.

"Ozpin, what information are you hiding?" Glynda asked, though she knew already.

"Anything I can but primarily anything to do with his Grimm research and projects."

"I figured as much but do you really believe James can't be trusted with this just yet?"

"Would you trust James with an army of the machine Ace and Ruby built for Halloween? Not to mention anything else he knows about the Grimm."

"Not decidedly no but surely you realize he would use it with the best of intentions."

"The best of intentions can lead to the most costly mistakes Glynda." Ozpin frowned.

"Where is that machine anyway? Did they scrap it after its use?"

"No, they asked me to keep it in storage for the time being."

The elevator chimed as it returned to the top level, opening to reveal Port and Oobleck within.

"Peter, Bart, punctual as always." Ozpin greeted.

"Of course Ozpin, you said you needed to discuss something of the upmost importance with us." Oobleck replied, walking to the desk with Port.

"Right. Straight to the point then. As you are all aware, it will soon be time for the students to shadow their first Huntsman or Huntress. Tomorrow there will be the mission selection."

"Why yes, it is around that time now isn't it? But there's something else isn't there?" Port asked.

Ozpin nodded. "With recent events things are becoming increasingly more dangerous for Vale. Not only that but thanks to teams RWBY and AZRE, we have a possible lead to a base of operation in the southeast. I think we all must realize that those teams have every intent of investigating this further and will attempt relocate themselves to that location."

"But Mount Glenn is far too dangerous for that. Surely you mustn't be thinking of allowing such a foolish endeavor." Oobleck said.

"Allowed or not, they will go regardless, so if they do, then it should at least be on our terms. Tomorrow they will each no doubt look for any mission regarding the southeast. We only have one and they are going try to access it."

"I see. So you intend on clearing one of them to accompany me then?" Oobleck asked.

"Indeed. They know something we don't so I think this would be mutually beneficial in the long run. But I needed to let you know what would inevitably happen."

"Hmm… Yes, it's a high possibility. Very well, I will take them on, BUT, you must realize that even with me there, chances are that we won't be enough if something does happen."

"I've taken this into account, which is why we will also send AZRE to that quadrant as well. We will prepare a mission exclusively for them to take. Glynda, you will be their mentor."

"I will?" Glynda asked in surprise.

"You will. You and the team are to serve as standby reinforcements. If something goes wrong, Bartholomew will contact you and you will be the first to their aid."

"As you wish. But what do we tell them about the mission?"

"We will organize it as a scouting mission. We've been meaning to send people back out there as it is, so at least that way we can kill two birds with one stone. This will allow for you to respond at any time and abandon the pseudo mission and join Bart at the true objective."

"If I may, why not send them together?" Port asked.

"A smaller force would be less likely to be detected and keeping a secondary team out of sight until the time calls for them will give us the advantage of having forces they aren't expecting nearby." Ozpin answered, to which Port nodded in agreement. "The missions will begin tomorrow. We should prepare for the worst before then."

* * *

"Professor? Professor Goodwitch?" Zweii called pulling her from her thoughts.

"Yes?" She finally replied.

"Are you alright? You've had this intense look on your face for a while now." Zweii asked.

Glynda cleared her throat awkwardly. "Yes, sorry. I was lost in thought." She turned facing the pilot. "How far are we from the landing zone?" She asked.

"Just another 20 clicks ma'am." He replied.

"Good. Mister Dragos, kindly wake your leader. It's time we discuss this mission in more detail."

Zweii nodded and walked over to Ace nudging him, the boy unresponsive to the contact. Sighing Zweii used the pommel of his sword to knock him a good one on the head earning an immediate reaction.

"OWW!" Ace cried holding the top of his helmet with his hands.

"Rise and shine Wolfblade. It's almost mission time and Goodwitch wants to have a quick chat before we land." Zweii said.

Ace groaned, getting up and gathering with his team in front of their professor.

"What's up teach?" Matthew asked pocketing his game.

"Look outside. Tell me what you see." Glynda requested.

The team looked out the sides of the Bullhead. To the left was more forest but to the right stood the ruins of an abandoned city.

"Mount Glenn…" Dezaryl answered.

"Correct. What is important about this location?"

"It was supposed to be an expansion settlement, but it ultimately ended in a failure due to how dangerous it was to maintain. In its last days it was besieged by Grimm." Ace answered.

"Very good. Oobleck will be glad to know you're paying attention in class. The expansion was sited in an ideal location but at the same time too far away from the walls of our kingdom. Many doubted the project from the beginning and said it was doomed to fail. There just weren't enough resources or protection to see it through." Glynda stated.

"Well yeah, when you start building a small city in the middle of nowhere with untamed terrain on every side, I wouldn't think that would work either." Matthew stated.

"In our fight for long term survival, we hardly have any choice." Glynda said irritably. "Perhaps if the expansion hadn't been so zealous, it would have been started closer, but there's no changing that now."

"So what does this have to do with our mission?" Dezaryl asked.

"Everything. We're much better equipped than we were before and if humanity is to stand a chance, we must keep expanding to push out most places the Grimm can cause trouble. We're here to scout the surrounding area and identify threats as we go. If we can do this, we'll be better prepared to cleanse the area and try again. Of course the city itself is far too overrun to do much until that too can be cleared so this is unlikely to happen anytime in the near future." Glynda explained.

The Bullhead began its descent to an opening in the forest canopy, a landing spot just the right size to set the aircraft down. The team and their mentor disembarked and began working their way out of the forest and into the open wasteland surrounding the ruined city.

"We'll start our scouting run in this direction and move back here when the sun begins to set. This forest will serve as our main camp." Goodwitch instructed, taking the lead.

The team followed behind, ever cautiously scanning the area for potential threats, but after a while of walking and seeing nothing of interest, they started to question if the Grimm had move away from the ruined city or if they were just in the wrong spot altogether.

"This is beyond boring." Matthew muttered kicking a stone into a tree.

"Missions are not supposed to be fun and games Mister Erthanos. Our job is a very serious one, and as such, a job you should be taking seriously. This isn't one of your little games your so fond of." Glynda lectured.

"I know that, but there isn't a rule against having fun doing something you want to do for a living." Matthew retorted, eyeing a mud hole not too far in front of their path.

Quickly dashing to it, Matthew leapt boots first into the muck, accidentally splattering Goodwitch in the process.

"Mister Erthanos!" Glynda shrieked, using her crop to get rid of the mess on her person.

"My bad." Matthew shrugged. "A little mud never hurt anyone anyway."

Glynda waved her crop sending Matthew face first into the mud hole.

"A little mud indeed…" She grumbled moving past him and onward.

Matthew, while covered in mud, seemed unfazed by the ordeal, merely picking himself up and wiping what little he could off of him.

"Why do you provoke her?" Dezaryl asked.

"It's a game. If she reacts, I win." Matthew grinned.

Ace covered his mouth, laughing at his friend's state and response.

"Tell me, why exactly are you even here again?" Glynda asked, overhearing the group.

"Uh because I'm on this team last time I checked." Matthew replied.

"No, I mean why are you attending Beacon in the first place?" Glynda clarified.

"To hunt Grimm, keep people safe, and if possible, have a little fun in the process." Matthew stated.

"And stay with Ace." Dezaryl added.

"That too. He wouldn't know what he'd do without me." Matthew grinned.

"I can think of a few things." Ace jabbed.

"Sleep is not a viable answer." Matthew stated, earning a glare from his leader. "Just think of how boring it would be without your good ol buddy Matthew around."

"Mister Wolfblade-" Glynda started.

"Ace. Come on, it's literally just the five of us out here professor." Ace interrupted.

"Ace actually takes his time at Beacon seriously, as opposed to goofing off like a child." Glynda

Matthew actually frowned at this, irritated by her comment.

"I am serious about being a Huntsman, otherwise I wouldn't be going in the first place." He bit back.

"How is anyone supposed to believe that when you do not act the part?" Glynda asked turning around.

"Oh so I can't be serious unless I act like you all the time, is that it?"

"No, but perhaps you fail to realize how dangerous our jobs really are!" Glynda snapped.

"I KNOW HOW DANGEROUS IT IS!" Matthew snapped, his voice raising dangerously high. "You think I'm stupid and don't care but the fact is I'm just as scared about this as anyone else!"

A look of surprise crossed Glynda's face at the boy's outburst.

"Matthew, I-"

"No! You be quiet! I almost lost my sister to Grimm! They could have killed me! They almost took my best friend from me!" Matthew shouted pointing to Ace. "Every time I see that scar, I'm reminded of that day and how he almost died! What person in their right mind wouldn't be scared knowing that the next encounter might very well be their last? But despite that, I'm not going to let fear control my life! I take every day with the goal to enjoy every moment I can, instead of worrying about stuff most normal teenagers don't have to. Is that so wrong?"

Glynda stood silent. He was right. So easily she forgot they were still children, trying to live two separate lives. One of normalcy and content, the other of constant fear and uncertainty. Ozpin had tried to tell her that at the beginning of the semester, but it hadn't really sunk in as well as she had thought.

"… I'm sorry. I had no idea." She apologized.

"Yeah? Well… Now you do…" Matthew replied, his anger subsiding.

Ace couldn't help but feel a hint of déjà vu. It was like watching himself talking with Weiss.

"Matt, you okay?" Dezaryl asked.

"I'm fine…" Matthew replied, looking at the sun that was steadily descending. "We're not making any progress just standing here and arguing. We should keep moving." Matthew said, pressing on.

Dezaryl took one of his Ice Dust arrows and removed the tip, tossing it to his stunned mentor. She looked quizzically to the crystal then to Dezaryl.

"Some Ice Dust for that burn..." He said walking away.

The rest of the group said nothing as they followed, Goodwitch hanging back slightly.

"I've never seen this side of him…" Glynda muttered.

"Be careful what you wish for." Ace replied.

"What?" Glynda asked looking to Ace.

"You wanted him to be serious, and that's exactly what you got. Not much fun now, is he?"

"No, I suppose not… Will he…"

"He'll be fine. Five minutes, he'll be back to his normal self."

"I shouldn't have been so harsh…"

"Matt acts like he doesn't care, but it's not really like that at all. When there's something that he wants to do, with all of his soul, he'll do it and do it right. And he wants to protect others."

Glynda nodded as the two quickened their pace to catch up with the others. When the did, they could hear Matthew and Dezaryl laughing at the joke the latter had made not a few seconds earlier as if nothing had ever happened.

However, the group stopped as they all heard the sounds of something large coming their way.

"Guys? Why is the ground shaking?" Zweii asked.

He didn't have to wonder long as a large, elephant like creature made its way past, just to their right side. On closer inspection the creature appeared to be a Grimm, black and covered with bone plating, red markings on its face plate. It wasn't alone either as several more followed behind, each paying the group no mind, as if they were too small to bother dealing with.

"Goliaths…" Glynda said.

"Oh wow. I've read about these in my Grimm books. They're supposed to be hundreds of years old and surprisingly docile unless provoked." Ace said.

"Those things are Grimm? They're huge!" Dezaryl stated.

"Quiet, and stick close to the trees. Let them pass." Glynda instructed, the group moving to the left side of their path.

"We're not going to fight them?" Zweii asked.

"Fighting them would prove to be a very poor idea, especially when there's this many. Only engage them if absolutely necessary." Glynda answered.

"Umm, does this qualify as necessary?" Matthew asked pointing at a lone Goliath that had strayed from the herd and into their path.

The creature looked at the group, watching their every move. It knew they were there and exactly what they were. Hunters.

Zweii readied his sword, but a touch on the shoulder from Ace made him postpone any action as his partner walked up to the Grimm.

"Ace, get back here immediately!" Glynda ordered.

"Relax, I got this." Ace said as he stopped in front of the Goliath.

The Goliath gave a low, rumbling huff from its trunk, blowing up dust with a simple breath.

"Hey now, you and I both know that fighting each other is the last of our priorities." Ace said, smiling up at the Grimm.

The creature stared for a while before moving its massive trunk towards Ace.

Perceiving this action as a threat, the rest of the group took up arms. The Goliath stopped and watched the group. Ace without looking back put a hand up, halting them. No longer anticipating an attack from the other tiny humans, the Grimm continued to reach out to Ace, the powerful trunk ever so gently wrapping around his lower body and hoisting him over the tree line and up to eye level.

"What's he doing?" Glynda asked.

"Hopefully not making another pet…" Zweii sighed with a hint of amusement.

Ace reached out, petting the trunk that so carefully held him. "That's right. We seem to have an understanding here, don't we?"

The Goliath let out another huff as if responding.

"HEY! ACE! OVER HERE!" A voice called, echoing over the wasteland.

Ace recognized the voice, looking around until he saw a red figure waving excitedly at him from the edge of the city. It was Ruby and beside her stood Oobleck.

The Goliath also made note of the pair, glancing over at them briefly as Ace waved back at his girlfriend.

Ace returned his attention to the Goliath and put a hand to the bony face plate, giving it a few idle rubs. Then, with a slight shift, the Goliath placed him back onto the ground, deciding it was time to regroup with its herd and walking off.

"So…" Ace said turning to the half stunned group. "Who's ready to head back to camp?"

* * *

_With Ruby…_

* * *

Ruby peered out over the ruined border of Mount Glenn, taking in the sight of the wasteland before her and spying the heard of Goliaths moving along the outskirts.

"What are those?" She asked as Oobleck joined her.

"That my dear Ruby, would be a Grimm known as a Goliath." He answered.

"We should kill them!" Ruby said readying her rifle.

"I'm afraid you wouldn't do anything but irritate them with your sniper rounds. They are far tougher than other Grimm and would not go down as easy."

"So what do we do if they attack?"

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that. They're smarter than most other Grimm and have learned in their many years roaming this area, that if they attack, we will fight back, and they will die."

Ruby watched as a stray Goliath stopped abruptly in its path and appeared to be looking at something.

"Why did it stop?" She asked.

"Uncertain. Perhaps it has found something of interest or a threat." Oobleck replied.

Ruby looked through the enhanced sniper scope, zooming in on the area in front of the Grimm.

"It's Ace and the others!" Ruby said, watching Ace walk towards the creature.

Oobleck pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked as well. "So it is. But what is he up to I wonder. Surely he doesn't intend to fight that behemoth."

"It doesn't look like it." Ruby replied before watching Ace get picked up by the Grimm. "It doesn't seem like the Goliath is too interested in fighting either."

"No, it seems very curious of him."

"Hey! Ace! Over here!" Ruby called, waving her arm to draw more attention.

She could see Ace and the Goliath look over to them, her boyfriend waving back.

"Astounding… How does he do that?" Oobleck asked, watching Ace interact peacefully with the Goliath.

"I don't know…"

* * *

_AZRE…_

* * *

"What?" Zweii, Dezaryl, and Glynda asked in unison as they walked back to base camp, Ace taking point this time.

"I said I don't know. Ace has just about always been intrigued with the Grimm. I guess he just has this weird understanding that we don't." Matthew said.

"But why is he so enthralled by them?" Zweii asked.

"You know it's rude to talk about someone behind their back when they're right in front of you, right?" Ace said, startling the group. "Seriously, if you're that curious you can just ask. It's not like it's that difficult to answer."

"You know, sometimes I forget how good your hearing is, but go ahead, enlighten us." Zweii said.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure myself, but I think it all started my great grandfather. When I was told of his discovery, I thought of how little anyone actually knew about the Grimm and just started from there. Meeting Shadow only increased my curiosity."

"Be that as it may, it would be wise to refrain from doing something so risky in the future." Glynda said.

"No promises." Ace said as they arrived at camp as the last dimming rays of sun disappeared.

Glynda checked on the pilot who had maintained position with no trouble before stepping back out.

"Everyone's accounted for. We should make a fire and prepare our sleeping arrangements." She stated.

"I've got the kindling." Dezaryl said, retrieving his pack and pulling out small chunks of wood.

"You carry wood in your satchel?" Goodwitch asked.

"Yep. It's good for carving to pass time and kindling to keep warm." Dezaryl answered making a ring of kindling.

"I've got some bigger logs over here. We were lucky. One of the Goliaths must have passed and knocked it over." Matthew said smashing the trunk into individual pieces, making three total and positioning them around the unlit bonfire.

"And I've got the fire." Zweii said making a fire ball in his hand and tossing it into the dry wood and igniting it, the orange ember illuminating the forest night.

Ace, Matthew, and Dezaryl gave a round of applause, Zweii bowing in turn.

"Man is it awesome to have our own mobile fire starter." Matthew said sitting down and playing on his scroll.

"Indeed. Thank you Zweii." Glynda said.

"My pleasure." Zweii grinned.

"Great! Now that we got fire, who wants sandwiches?" Matthew asked pulling out his pack.

"You made food?" Glynda asked.

"I told you. I learned to cook for when I was out in the field." Matthew said handing out the prepared food.

"Thank you Matt." Ace said biting into his food eagerly, the others quickly following suit.

While eating, Glynda turned her attention back to Zweii.

"Tell me, your family lives in Atlas correct?" Glynda asked.

"Yeah." Zweii replied.

"Why did you travel so far from home to attend Beacon?"

"I'm not interested in Ironwood's methods of turning students into actual military soldiers that can't think for themselves. I've known many friends that chose to attend his school and by the time they came back to visit after preliminary examinations, I could hardly recognize them. I wasn't going to become another one of his mindless robots." Zweii answered.

"Ironwood's methods do differ greatly from our own, but in the end, he's only doing what he thinks is in the best interest for the future of his students. Unlike Vale, military rules the kingdom's greatest powers."

"I enjoy Beacon far more than I would that boot camp." Zweii stated.

Matthew continued tapping on his scroll, playing his game in content.

"What are you playing?" Glynda asked.

"Just a strategy game where you build defenses to hold of hordes of enemies. It's really fun." Matthew answered.

"I've never been one for video games…" Glynda stated.

"Have you ever played one?" Matthew asked.

"N-no… No I haven't."

"Well there you go."

"I don't have time for such trivial activities."

"Games aren't senseless violence all the time you know. It's proven that they can build problem solving skills and increase hand eye coordination, given the proper design of course."

"He's actually not wrong there. It's been studied to death and the results don't lie." Zweii confirmed.

"I never knew that." Glynda said.

"Even a teacher can be taught!" Matthew cheered.

Ace smiled before letting out a huge yawn.

"Scuse me… I think it's time to turn in." He said.

"Hey, hold on lazy. We haven't decided who's going to keep watch yet." Dezaryl said.

"Oh yeah. Hey Matt, you good for first go?" Ace asked.

"Yeah you all go ahead and rest up. I'll keep an eye out for trouble." Matthew replied.

"You mean besides yourself?" Zweii joked.

"Zweii, lay off it." Dezaryl said.

"Nah it's okay. That just means Zweii gets next shift." Matthew stated.

"Eh, it was worth it." Zweii shrugged.

"How can people that claim to be best friends be so insulting to each other?" Glynda asked.

"Oh it's simple. We're such great friends that we can say that kind of stuff to each other and it doesn't faze us. Idiot is practically Matt's pet name at this point." Ace answered, unclasping the straps keeping his chest and back piece secured to his body and removing the armor pieces, setting them in the Bullhead.

Ace then grabbed his sleeping mat and rolled it out, laying on the comfortable barrier between himself and the metal floor of the airship.

"I'll get next watch. Just let me know when you need some rest partner." Dezaryl said unrolling his pack and taking a spot in the airship as well.

"Joke's on you. I can go all night." Matthew proudly proclaimed.

"We're sure that you can Matt, but you need your rest or you won't perform as well." Zweii said joining the others in the Bullhead, closing the other door before grabbing a spot on his knapsack.

"Alright. I'll be staying up for a while though so you guys can get some extra shut eye." Matthew replied. "You too teach." He grinned.

Glynda smiled back with a nod. No words were said but she knew that the past ordeal had been put behind them. Taking her seat in the front of the Bullhead, she reclined back and attempted to get some rest.

* * *

True to his word Matthew had stayed up to keep guard for a good four hours before deciding that he was done with his watch. Once Dezaryl had woken and taken his post, he took to his well-earned rest.

Dezaryl stood vigilant and alert to his surroundings as he guarded the camp and his team. What surprised him was the severe lack of Grimm. According to various reports, the area surrounding Mount Glenn should have been crawling with the beasts, but other than the Goliaths, they had yet to find even one.

The archer wondered if perhaps they were simply fortunate enough to not have an encounter with the Grimm so far, and had avoided them all together. However, another part of him knew a far more likely scenario was being presented.

The Grimm were being drawn to one specific point of the area. If their enemies truly were hiding out here, their ill intents and dark emotions could easily draw the Grimm in from miles around.

Whatever the case, they would find out what exactly Roman and the White Fang were up to and put an end to it.

Suddenly Glynda's scroll went off, waking the sleeping professor. She looked to confirm it was indeed Oobleck calling her. Something had happened, just as they had anticipated. Pressing the answer button, she accepted the call.

"Glynda! Sorry to disturb you but we have a crisis!" Oobleck abruptly greeted.

"What is it? What's happened?" Glynda asked, her voice rousing the rest of her group.

"Miss Rose. She's gone missing! We fear that she may have fallen into the lower city depths, quite possibly even being capture by the very enemies we have been searching for! We're currently on route to gain access to the buried city to find her! If you and the boys could come assist us… It would be greatly appreciated." Oobleck said.

"We're on our way. Be careful Bart." Glynda said.

"Always. Oobleck out!" The green haired doctor said ending the call.

Glynda moved to the back of the Bullhead to find the once sleeping teenagers awake and ready to go. Dezaryl entered from the open side of the airship and joined the others.

"Good you're all awake. We have to move. It seems Miss Rose may have stumbled into trouble." She informed.

"Well what are we waiting for!?" Ace asked, now back in full gear. "If she's in trouble we have to get going."

Glynda nodded, moving back to the cockpit and instructing the pilot to get them back in the air.

A short flight later they were hovering over the barren city. Glynda had tracked Oobleck's scroll signal to the point he was at the time of contact, a huge gaping hole sitting in the middle of the street.

"This is it. They should all be just below the surface." Goodwitch informed.

"Good. Let's go guys!" Ace said jumping out from the airship and to the ground below, his team following after him.

Goodwitch also jumped down, following after as they descended into the crater. Navigating their way through the underground network of tunnels, they soon found a blasted out hole leading to the buried city where the fighting had already broken out.

Ace spotted Ruby and her team boarding an armored train as it began moving down the track, towards a large tunnel.

"Ruby!" Ace shouted, getting her attention.

Ruby looked back, seeing Ace and his team had come to their aid. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one who spotted him as multiple groups of White Fang soldiers moved in on the newest intruders.

"Ace look out!" Ruby cried out, pointing to the advancing threat.

Ace turned to see the group before looking back at Ruby as the last of the train disappeared into dark tunnel.

"RUBY!" Ace shouted, choosing to make a run after her.

The White Fang opened fire, forcing him to dive back to cover.

"Don't worry. She's with the others. Right now we have to hold off these White Fang!" Zweii said.

Team AZRE looked back to Glynda, waiting for her command.

"Show me what you've all learned boys." She said.

The crew nodded and drew their weapons, charging from cover before splitting up to take the converging groups.

Zweii was the first to meet up with his group head on. The sub machine gun fire from the White Fang's basic weaponry rattled against his sturdy armor, doing nothing as he continued forward.

With Dragon's Wrath poised behind him, he met three of the faster units first, swinging the massive blade forward and dispatching them with a single swing.

Jumping forward, Zweii landed in the middle of the group with a fiery explosion of his Semblance, the heated waves of energy knocking the grunts flat onto their backs.

"You guys have to be kidding me… That was all it took to put you thugs down?" Zweii scoffed at the groaning group as they staggered back up.

"Grr, arrogant human!" One of the Faunus shouted swinging his sword at the knight.

Zweii blocked before moving one hand off the hilt of his blade and releasing a fire orb into the grunt's chest, blasting him back to the ground. Soon another took the fallen grunt's place, attacking from behind, just to be batted away with a backwards swing.

A third was quick to follow and just as quick to fall as Zweii brought his sword down on her and planted her in the ground. The final White Fang of the group charged in, armed only with his fists from the side. Zweii pulled his sword back, the blade resting on the ground momentarily, before pivoting around and lunging it forward. The blade ate through the earth beneath him, the end smashing into the grunt and sending him flying over and behind Zweii before he landed with a thud.

Matthew waved Vulcan from side to side, bashing the grunts as he passed them before stopping his charge and swinging once more, the hammer head detaching and acting as a miniature wreaking ball as it plowed into several more enemies.

One of the White Fang attacked from the side kicking Matthew in the arm hard enough to make him loose is grip on his hammer before winding up a punch.

Recovering quickly, Matthew evaded, the White Fang instead punching one of his allies that was approaching from behind in the face instead. Trying his luck, the grunt punched again, only for Matthew to activate his Semblance on the point of impact, his fist hitting iron.

The grunt howled in pain, feeling as if he had broken his hand while Matthew punched back before grabbing him by the arm and spinning around, throwing him into his already staggered friend.

Picking up his hammer, Matthew rested over his shoulder while watching Dezaryl move on his selected group.

The White Fang focused their fire on the archer sending a hailstorm of bullets. Dezaryl held his hands out and open, his teal Aura glowing around them as he activated his Semblance. The bullets all stopped short in front of him, suspended by his telekinetic ability. Pushing forward, the bullets reversed their course and showered the White Fang.

Pulling out his bow, he fired three fire Dust arrows, each hitting a single target with great precision and taking them out of the fight. One grunt got close enough to swing at him, but he rolled effortlessly out of the way, transforming his bow into a long sword and slashing with great fury, taking out the Faunus.

Two soldiers left Dezaryl used his Semblance again, lifting on into the air before slamming him face first into the ground and tossing him to the side. The last member made a run for it, heading to one of the larger structures still standing in the cavern. Dezaryl pursued, wanting to make sure none got away.

Meanwhile Ace slowly approached the fourth White Fang group, the members losing their nerve at the sight of his armor. True they wore Grimm masks themselves but this was a whole different level for them. He could have easily passed for some elite White Fang higher up.

Drawing a little bit of courage, they attacked. Ace blocked three grunts and their swords with Lunar Fang, countering with varied slashes to each. Kicking backwards, a fourth found Ace's boot planted in his gut before dropping unconscious.

"Die monster!" A fifth soldier yelled, aiming his gun at Ace.

Ace cloaked himself with his Semblance, throwing the Faunus off his game.

"Huh? Wh-Where'd he go?" He asked looking around as he slowly backed away.

He stopped when he felt himself back into something solid, his body tensing and his nerves weakening. Turning around he found Ace standing mere inches from himself. He raised his gun shakily, only for it to be snatched from his hands and tossed aside.

"Take this you Demon!" He shouted punching Ace with all his might in the chest plate.

Not feeling his target being pushed back he slowly looked up to see Ace smirking at his pitiful attempt.

"Wow… Now I know how that girl in red felt we she fought me…" He mumbled.

The smirk on Ace's face vanished, only to shift to one of pure anger.

"Care to repeat that? It sounded like you just said you hurt my girlfriend." Ace growled cracking his knuckles menacingly.

The Faunus paled, whimpering nervously before trying to speak. He didn't have the chance to utter a single syllable as Ace pummeled him viciously before giving one final downward blow to his head knocking him out.

"Don't ever touch her again, if you know what's good for you." Ace warned before leaving him where he lay.

Dezaryl watched his Faunus turn the corner of the building, following mere seconds behind him. As he turned the corner himself he was greeted with at least a dozen other members aiming laser rifles they had appropriated from some of the Atlesian Knight-200s.

"Umm… Uh oh." Dezaryl gulped.

"Hey guys, where'd Dez go?" Matthew asked before the sound of laser fire rang out drew their attention.

Dezaryl ran faster than seemed humanly possible around the corner shouting as lasers shot past him. The White Fang chased after, one of the heavier one's skidding and almost tripping as he rounded the building.

"They got laser beams!" Dezaryl shouted running to his team.

Zweii shifted Dragon's Wrath into turret mode as the remaining soldiers drew closer, abruptly stopping when they saw the large gun being aimed at them.

"How do you like this for a firing squad!?" Dezaryl shouted as Zweii opened fire.

The White Fang scrambled to retreat but were taken out in a clean sweep of the chain gun fire.

"Great work everybody. Now let's go see where that train is going." Ace said leading his group to the tunnel.

Glynda trailed behind as she followed when they all heard explosions from the tunnel, shaking the cave itself from the shockwaves. Dirt and rocks rained down as Ace and his team continued running.

"Keep going!" Ace ordered as they neared the beginning of the tunnel.

The support for the tunnel finally gave out as they passed through, large rocks and debris sealing off the tunnel.

"That was close…" Matthew stated, staring at the blocked passage.

"Hey, where's Professor Goodwitch?" Zweii asked.

"She must be on the other side of the wall…" Ace reasoned.

"No signal down here. We can't call her on our scrolls." Matthew said looking at his device.

"Good thing my Semblance has bars wherever I go." Dezaryl said focusing on contacting Glynda.

On the other side Goodwitch stared at the wall hoping her students had made it through.

_"__Professor Goodwitch? Can you hear me?" _Dezaryl asked telepathically, Glynda hearing the voice in her mind. _"I'm using my Semblance to contact you through your mind. Just think what you want to say and I'll be able to hear it."_

_"__Dezaryl? I can hear you. Did everyone make it through?" _ Glynda asked.

_"__We're fine but we can't get through this rubble. We're going to keep moving forward and find out where that train is going." _He answered.

_"__All right but be careful. Those tracks lead to Vale. Whatever they have on board is heading straight for the city. I'll regroup with our pilot and get there as quick as I can."_ She responded.

"Well, we're on our own for now. Only way to go is forward." Dezaryl stated.

"Let's go then, before the whole tunnel decides to collapse on our heads." Matthew said.

The group ran through the tunnel eventually finding White Fang members trying desperately to fend off a hoard of Grimm. Several bodies of disintegrating Grimm lay on the ground but so too were there bodies of some less fortunate White Fang members.

"What are Grimm doing in the tunnel!?" Matthew asked.

"I don't know, but we can't just leave these guys to die. Everybody move up and defend those Faunus!" Ace ordered.

A female deer Faunus shot frantically at an approaching Beowolf, until her gun was void of ammo. Just before the Beowolf could decide to attack, the sound of more people approaching drew both of their attention.

Ace ran past the girl in danger and cleaved through the Beowolf with one slash. The Faunus dropped to her knees in relief as Ace cut through more wolves.

"Matt! Over there!" Ace said pointing at a male bat Faunus who was holding his injured arm while he was backed against a wall from an Ursa.

Matthew rushed to his aid, smashing the Ursa in the face with his hammer killing it on impact.

"You… You saved me… Why?" The member asked.

"It is the duty of all Huntsman and Huntresses to protect all of humanity, regardless of race." Matthew smiled. "Not all humans hate Faunus you know."

The bat Faunus nodded hesitantly before wincing and sliding his back down the wall.

"Just stay here. We'll get you out of here once we get rid of these Grimm." Matthew said, rushing off to kill more of the creatures.

Zweii spotted another White Fang member, a raccoon by the looks of his tail, trying to hold off a few Beowolves. Running to his side Zweii helped him dispatch the beasts with ease. Once done Zweii moved to help the others.

"Hey, wait… Thank you for the help… I didn't know how much longer I was going to last…" The member said, to which Zweii nodded.

Dezaryl flipped over an Ursa, firing some well-placed shots into its back and killing it, landing beside a wolverine Faunus, who had been up to that point completely surrounded by the bears.

"Well this is a fine mess you found yourself in." The archer joked firing an arrow into another Ursa's head.

"Silence human! I don't need your help!" He shouted angrily stabbing an Ursa in the throat.

"Not what it looked like to me." Dezaryl said.

Once the Grimm were defeated, AZRE regrouped, examining the carnage.

"So many lives lost…" Matthew muttered, hardly able to look at the deceased Faunus that lay amongst the Grimm.

"There's nothing we could have done." Dezaryl assured him.

The four White Fang members approached, the raccoon helping the bat over.

"Why did you help us?" The deer Faunus asked.

"No one deserves to die to those monsters." Ace answered. "It's not too late to stop this, leave this all behind you."

"Why would we stop? We've been looked down on for too long. The White Fang will make you humans pay!" The wolverine Faunus shouted, pointing his sword at the Huntsman in training, wincing from his injuries.

"You're in no condition to fight. None of you are." Zweii pointed out.

"We have no choice. Humans will never treat us with respect. The White Fang will help us get what we've always wanted." The raccoon Faunus said.

"Look around you! Is this what you really want!?" Ace shouted. "All this bloodshed? To hurt innocent people because the guilty have hurt you? To act like the monsters that so many see you for instead of the equals we know you are? This is not what the original White Fang worked so hard for. They didn't want respect out of fear and violence. They wanted peace and equality through understanding. This is not how things will get better for the Faunus and you know it."

"We've waited for so long and nothing has changed! You have no idea the pain we've been put through trying to live in peace with those that judge us by our features!" The deer Faunus yelled. "I just wanted to be treated like any other person. I never did anything to deserve the mistreatment that me and so many others have gone through. How can we make peace when humans are so cruel!?"

"I understand exactly how you feel…" Ace said.

"How could you?"

"Because my friend Ace here is a Half-Breed. He's been discriminated by humans AND Faunus all his life because his family believed they could prove the coexistence of the two with the love they had for each other." Matthew said. "Despite all of the unfair treatment he received, he still only ever wanted to help others and to have people he could call his friends."

"Matthew was my first friend. The first one to stand by my side when so many were against me. When I came to Beacon I found even more people like him, that shared the same belief. I even found love in a human that only cared about who I was, not what I was. It's true, many humans can be cruel for no other reason than the fact they think all other races are beneath them, but there are plenty more that sympathize with the Faunus and Half-Breeds and want what's best for all parties." Ace said.

"Ask yourselves this. Is all this really what you want? Because if there is so much as a single doubt in your minds, then perhaps you need to reconsider what it is that you truly want to fight for." Zweii said.

The female Faunus, shifted uncomfortably in place, moving her hands to her face and removing her mask.

"What are you doing!?" The wolverine Faunus yelled.

"This isn't what I wanted… I never wanted to hurt people. I just wanted change." She said dropping her mask.

The bat and raccoon looked to each other before removing their masks as well.

"She's right. Getting revenge isn't going to get us what we really want… I'm done with this." The bat said.

"Me too. I've been a fool thinking this was going to solve anything." The raccoon Faunus said.

"Stop this nonsense all of you! You think they really care about you? Their only trying to deceive you! The White Fang are the only ones that hold your best interests!" The wolverine Faunus shouted.

"You call leaving Faunus barely capable of fighting behind to die to Grimm holding their best interests? None of them even came to help you. We did. It's time to face the facts that they don't care if you live or die so long as they get what they want." Dezaryl said.

"Shut up! The White Fang will make a better future for all Faunus, even if a few lives have to be lost in the process! All humans are guilty! Men, women, children! All of them! The White Fang will crush all that stand in our way!"

The deer, bat, and raccoon Faunus looked to each other and nodded, moving away from their leader and beside Ace and the others.

"Get back here this instant!"

"Do you even hear yourself? They're right. The White Fang are monsters." The bat Faunus said.

"Traitors! All of you are traitors! You're all a disgrace! You don't deserve the right to call yourselves Faunus!"

"No. It's you who betrayed the Faunus when you decided taking innocent lives was ever an acceptable option, corrupting others and tarnishing the image of those that truly seek peace. You are the disgrace, not them." Zweii said.

"My family always supported the old ways of the White Fang, but not the new. Now we see why. We're done taking orders from you and your blood thirsty leader." The raccoon said.

"Fine… If you want to side with the humans, you can die with them like all the rest!" The wolverine shouted, running off deeper into the tunnel.

"After him!" Ace said, everyone giving chase.

"So why are there Grimm everywhere in this tunnel?" Matthew asked.

"Oh no!" The deer Faunus shouted in realization. "The train! It's carrying bombs! The White Fang planned on blowing holes in the tunnel and leading the Grimm into the city!"

"Well that explains the explosions we heard earlier." Dezaryl stated.

"Hey, do you all hear that?" Ace asked detecting sounds of growling and roaring.

"It sounds like… Grimm…" Zweii said, as the group came to a stop.

In front of them was the White Fang soldier, frozen in place and before him, a massive swarm of bipedal Grimm, far too many for even them to safely take out, and they were approaching quickly.

"Everybody get to the side and stick close to me!" Ace ordered.

His team and the Ex-White Fang recruits obeyed, moving to the left side of the tunnel.

"What's the plan Ace?" Dezaryl asked.

"Keep quiet and stay calm." Ace answered as the wave of Grimm drew closer.

Using his Semblance, Ace cloaked not only his self but everyone near him as well, hiding them from sight.

"Are… Are we invisible?" The bat Faunus asked.

"It's my Semblance. I can cloak myself but I can also make other things around me invisible if I want." Ace explained.

"That's great. We can just sneak out of here." The raccoon Faunus said,

"No. It takes too much Aura. I'm not even sure how long I can keep this up." Ace said.

"What are those things coming down the tunnel?" Zweii asked.

"Creeps…" Ace answered.

The wolverine Faunus looked around trying to find a place to escape the oncoming danger. Ace uncloaked his upper half to show where he was.

"Over here! Quick!" Ace called, alerting him, but it was too late.

The Grimm came upon him in a mere moment thwarting any chance of escape.

"No! Stay back! No! No! NOOOOOO- AH AHHHHHHH!" The Faunus cried as the Grimm descended on him, ripping him to pieces, his blood spilling everywhere.

Ace looked away, fully cloaking himself once again.

"Oh my lord…" The deer Faunus squeaked, turning away from the gore.

Through with their recent kill the Grimm, moved seemed to be moving on, but one had heard the girl Faunus and moved to investigate. Standing not but a few feet away and staring directly where the sound should have come from, it watched closely.

Ace grit his teeth, his Semblance quickly taxing his Aura. He just needed to hold on as long as he could.

Finding nothing, the Creep proceeded to move on like the rest.

Once the coast was clear Ace dropped the cloaking on everyone, panting heavily from exhaustion.

"That was… Too close…" Ace huffed.

"But you kept us alive." Matthew said.

"Not all of us…" Ace said looking at where the Grimm had killed the White Fang member.

"Hey, you tried. His hatred got the better of him in the end." Matthew said.

"He was too far gone. He brought it upon himself." Dezaryl said.

"Let's just keep moving. We need to make sure the others and the city are safe." Zweii said.

The group moved on in silence, the only sounds made from their running.

"So what happens after all of this is over?" The bat Faunus asked glumly.

"You want my suggestion, go home and get away from all this." Ace answered.

"Yeah dude, lay back with some snacks, watch some movies and just chill." Matthew said in agreement.

"You're… You're not going to arrest us?" He asked in surprise.

"You sound disappointed." Dezaryl said flashing a smile, the Faunus smiling in return.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, the group found the tail of the train. The locomotive was mangled mess of metal, throw off its track.

"Oh no… Ruby…" Ace breathed uneasily.

They rushed to the front, surprised to find Oobleck looking up at a hole in the ceiling, with Zwei standing with him, the little corgi barking at their arrival.

"Professor Oobleck!" Team AZRE shouted in relief.

"Children! Oh thank goodness, this is wonderful, simply wonderful. Not the mess mind you but you being here of course. The Grimm have moved into the city! We must hurry and stop them! The girls are already up there! And its Doctor Oobleck…" He said.

"What about the White Fang?" Ace asked.

"We took out most of them but a few may have slipped past and into the city as well." Oobleck answered. "Where's Glynda?"

"We got separated in the tunnel. She said she would be here as soon as possible." Zweii answered.

"And what of these three?" Oobleck asked motioning to the Faunus.

"Just some misguided souls we managed to steer in the right direction." Matthew said with a smile.

"Ah, very good then. I'll be on my way up then, see you there!" Oobleck said, zipping up the train and outside to the surface.

"We should get up there too…" Dezaryl said looking at Ace, who was staring at some Atlesian paladins that were still intact. "Ace?"

"Hmm..." Ace hummed.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Zweii asked?

"Aren't I always?" Ace grinned.

* * *

On the surface Ruby and the others were giving it their all against the Grimm, trying to hold them off and keep the citizens of Vale safe as best they could. Having cleared out the initial swarm that emerged from the hole, they tracked down a pack of Beowolves that had snuck further into the city and were currently dispatching them.

When the last wolf had been slain however, a pair of White Fang operated Atlesian Paladins appeared from around the block, turning from the humans they were chasing and focusing on the team of Huntresses instead.

The operators of the mechanized suits laughed as they approached the tiring team.

Hearing more mechanical footsteps form behind, Team RWBY looked to see two more Paladins flanking them, one holding a defeated looking Matthew, the other Dezaryl.

"Looks like it's game over for you and your friends, girls!" One of the White Fang cackled.

The girls couldn't look away as they newly arrived Paladins stepped closer, holding their friends.

Matthew then opened his eyes and winked at the girls telling them it was all right. Activating his Semblance, Matthew turned his entire form metal as the Paladin locked its arm back.

"Oh it's game over alright! But not for them." Ace said, his voice broadcasted from the Paladin

With great ease the machine threw Matthew like a metallic human baseball, straight into the chassis of one of the enemy Paladins crumpling it and breaking the machine into pieces. The operator fell out dazed while Matthew landed unscathed albeit a bit disoriented from the impact.

"What the Hell are you doing?" The second White Fang shouted in confusion, as Dezaryl was also thrown, landing on top of the enemy machine.

Dezaryl shot a Burn Dust arrow into each of the machines arms, the Dust exploding and taking the limbs off. The archer then jumped off as the second friendly Paladin charged forward and ripped the front of the chassis off, revealing the White Fang soldier inside who surrendered immediately.

"You girls okay?" Zweii asked from the cockpit of his Paladin.

"We are now that you're here." Yang said giving a thumbs up.

"Nice work with your bow Dez." Zweii commended.

"Hunter's Fortune always gets the job done." Dezaryl replied.

Matthew steadied himself as he got to his feet.

"That was NOT what I was thinking…" Matthew stated. "Next time, I'm driving."

"Oh get over it, you're fine." Ace said as he disembarked from the cockpit.

Ruby rushed over, embracing him in a powerful hug.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue." She sighed happily.

"No problem. You're worth rescuing." Ace said as they all walked back to the where CFVY and JNPR were cleaning up the last remaining Grimm.

"How'd you learn to drive those Paladins?" Weiss asked.

"From some new friends." Ace said as they spotted the three Ex-White Fang members near Oobleck.

"You mean?" Blake asked.

"Mhmm. We might not be able to convince all of them, but this is a good start if you ask me." Ace smiled. "Maybe you should go have a private conversation with them, one defector to another."

"Maybe I will." Blake smiled. "Thank you Ace."

The group watched as Emerald and Mercury helped the Atlesian Military secure and load Roman Torchwick into one of their aircraft.

"Hey Ruby. Looks like our bad guy catching dry streak is over." Ace grinned.

Ruby giggled as she and Ace wrapped an arm around each other and locked into a kiss.

"Let's go home." Ace said.

* * *

The airships transported everyone back to Beacon as the morning sun rose over the horizon. RWBY and AZRE sat at the airship docking bay, looking at Vale from a far. A lot had happened and while things didn't go as perfect as everyone had hoped, in the end everything seemed to have worked out.

They saved a lot of people today, and thanks to their efforts, a lot of their enemies were now behind bars, even if they still didn't know why they did all of this in the first place. There would be time for answers later, but for now they were just happy to be back at Beacon.

"So what do we do now?" Yang asked.

"Well there is the tournament to prepare for, but after all this, I think we're more than ready." Weiss stated.

"Yeah, no kidding." Matthew said.

"So… Sleep?" Ace asked?

"You know, that actually sounds really good right now." Zweii said, everyone adding in their agreement to the idea as well.

The friends walked back to Beacon, ready to get a good night's sleep knowing that Vale was safe for that much longer.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it folks. I'm not going to lie, I made this chapter a lengthy one, but with all things considered I think the amount of time between updates justifies some added length. Hope to get the next chapter out much sooner. I don't really have anything else to say so until next time, I will see you all later and as always if you liked what you read, let me know, or if there was something you didn't quite like, let me know that too. Your input helps me.**


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